Cup of Trembling
by Sir Eddy
Summary: Even after so many years since she finally found peace in her life, it's still only just a moment for Kaede and her family. Humanity knows of the Diclonius and though hatred does not necessarily exist between the two species, there are still those who wish to watch the world burn.      Alternate Sequel to "The Butterfly Effect"
1. Prolouge

**Special Air Service/United States Delta Force Joint Operation**

**Location: Dundee, United Kingdom.**

**Time: 0300**

**Date: April 17th, 2014**

**Objective: Capture five stolen stasis pods or eliminate contents**

**Rules of Engagement: All expendable**

* * *

><p>Urbain enjoyed the rain a lot, it made him feel relaxed and it gave him something to focus on when his mind was a wreck. The rhythmic tone it made allowed him to simply close his eyes and focus in on that sound, allowing him to clear his mind of anything and everything. The cool refreshing feeling of it helped him feel more at ease, it both literally and figuratively cooled him off. On days whenever he was angry or having a spell of anxiety, going for a walk on a very rainy day would help him find his thoughts. Granted it was no cure for the anxiety, but nonetheless it did help him if things were getting out of hand. It made him happy they would be infiltrating the port on such a night.<p>

Urbain was watching the activity inside of the port from his vantage point, hidden in the dark by the bushes at the edge of one of the ports of Dundee. He wasn't very knowledgeable of the city, as the majority of his time within the United Kingdom was spent in London, then it was in different barracks once he had joined the Special Air Service. Not that he was complaining, it was exactly where he needed to be. He couldn't see much activity within the port from his perspective, but that's why they had a Dauphin flying above the port giving to give them a birds-eye view of the entire area.

Urbain looked to both sides to check and make sure his squad was with him, and sure enough they were. His three team members were waiting patiently and quietly for their signal. Elsewhere, two other squads waited for the go-sign, along with a US Delta Force team infiltrating from the water. As they all waited patiently, the only movements they made were caused by their chests expanding as they breathed, Urbain's mind trailed back to the briefing they had all received earlier that day.

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><p><em>Thirty SAS members sat in their chairs, facing towards the projector screen at the front, Urbain somewhere near the middle of the crowd. Within the room also sat fifteen members of the United States Delta Force. It raised ones curiosity when the best soldiers two super powers had to offer were located within the same briefing room; usually meant that whatever mission they were being sent on was of quite the importance.<em>

_Every single man within the room stood up to salute the two officers who walked in, Captain Graham of the SAS, along with the US commander for the operation, also holding the rank of Captain. The American was Captain Gwever, a man who definitely looked like someone who belonged in one of America's top counter-terrorism unit. _

_Once the captains returned the salute to the waiting soldiers, they all sat down as Graham pulled up a remote that was sitting on a window sill, the lights going dim as the projector cast the image of a fairly large port and warehouse. "Gentlemen, I'll keep things simple, as this mission is important in regards to the safety of just about anybody I can think of." said Captain Graham. Despite his thirteen years serving in the SAS, Urbain still found himself sometimes having trouble understanding English. It wasn't his first language, and it hadn't been until he moved to the United Kingdoms some twelve years ago that Urbain had really needed to learn the language. He still retained a heavy French accent, and Urbain felt it would be many more years before he'd ever lose it._

_He brought his attention back to the Graham as he spoke once more. "This here is a warehouse within the port of Dundee, and this is where we will be conducting our next operation." Graham then turned to Gwever, nodding head. Urbain always found Americanized English to be interesting in regards to how it sounded to him, considering the British variety of English was the style he had learned and spoke. _

"_Hello, I am Captain Gwever; I will be the commanding officer of the US forces during this operation." He looked around at all of the soldiers, each one watching the two CO's every movement and listening to every word. The photo changed to an overhead view of the whole port, the particular warehouse they were aiming for was highlighted. "This, men, will be what's holding out target._

* * *

><p>Urbain was then brought back to the real word as he heard Captain Graham's voice over the radio give the signal. "Move." In that instant, Urbain and his team were quickly and quietly making their way towards a chain-link fence that surrounded the set of building they were heading towards. With little sound they moved over the fence and stacked up at the corner of a building with Sargent Arem, the squad leader, at the front of the four man stack, Urbain right behind him. "We got some two smoking in the alley here, take them out." Spoke Arem.<p>

Arem peeked around the corner, crouching to give Urbain room to move up in a firing position as well. Two men stood down near the end of the alleyway by a simple metal door, smoking and having themselves a friendly conversation. They were not dressed in any specific uniform, as for the most part they were dressed like a standard dock worker. As Urbain and Arem fired off a quick burst from their silenced M4s, both guards fell without ever knowing what hit them. All four men of the squad quickly began their approach toward the metal door, stacking up in pairs on each side. Urbain took this brief moment of time to remember the orders that the squad had been given at the briefing.

* * *

><p><em>Graham had turned to face Sergeant Arem, who was sitting towards the front and quickly writing down notes. "Sergeant Arem, your team will be infiltrating from here." Graham pointed at a small alleyway located on the eastern border of the port. "You will breach at this doorway, make your way to the second floor which your squad will clear of personnel while Sergeant Walker's team clears the first floor. You will then make your way to the windows facing out towards the warehouse and await further orders there. Understood?" <em>

"_Yes sir." Was all Sgt. Arem said, quickly writing down the orders on his notepad. _

* * *

><p>Arem looked at Urbain, giving him a nod before reaching and slowly taking hold of the door handle. Slowly Arem pushed the door open with his gun at the ready, but when he saw that the hallway they were entering was clear, he quickly moved inside with the rest of the team right behind him with their weapons at the ready. As they rounded a corner, Urbain could see three security guards sitting within another room around, watching a game of football, or soccer as the Americans would call it, on a small portable TV.<p>

Arem was about to move his team to kill the guards, but when two of the guards dropped dead and the third one began scrambling to get up from his seat only to be knocked back into it by a burst from an unseen group, Arem knew Sgt. Walker and his team had made it inside.

Urbain followed closely behind Arem, watching ahead of him for any threat to present itself, but things were relatively clear as they made their way to the staircase leading up to the second floor. No hostiles yet, so Arem's team made their way to the door at the top of the staircase. There was still not a soul in sight as the squad made their way down another hallway, and then stacked up at a corner at the end of the hallway. They could hear multiple persons speaking around it, so Arem glanced back at his three squad mates after peering around the corner, holding up five fingers to indicate there were five guards in the next hallway. He then held up his hand as he glanced back around the corner; clenching his fist suddenly, he turned around the corner and dropped into a crouch, firing a burst off at the nearest guard to him. The dead man's friends made a reach for their weapons, but the rest of the squad was already around the corner, dropping the last four guards quickly and efficiently.

The squad was moving once more, checking each and every room of the second floor but finding no one else. Once they were sure it was clear, they made their way toward their ordered position near a series of windows that looked out towards the warehouse they were aiming for. "Squad 3, in position." Arem said into his radio. Everyone was met by Sgt. Walker's voice, "Squad 4, in position." So now they had to wait for the rest of the SAS squads to get to where they needed to be.

It was the American's next that came onto the radio, "Sandman here, set and ready." Urbain cast a glance out the window in the direction the US squad was infiltrating from, but the warehouse blocked any chance of Urbain spotting the Americans. They had infiltrated into the warehouse via the sea, as the warehouse had an area from which boats could enter and unload their contents. Sandman was the call-sign of the Delta team that was infiltrating via water, with Captain Gwever infiltrating via land alongside the SAS.

Urbain glanced at Sgt. Arem, who carried on his back a Benelli M-1014 Shotgun, loaded with 12 gauge slugs. However, it was the contents of the stasis pods they were after that necessitated the use of the specially made slugs. While most were constructed out of lead, these particular slugs were constructed out of tempered steel. Even the shotguns had to have been modified to handle the greater charge that had been placed in the shotgun shells to propel the heavy slug with sufficient force. Each of the squads on this mission, SAS and Delta, had one of these special shotguns nicknamed "Thor". Each of the soldiers had also been instructed to bring only assault rifles equipped with steel rounds, another oddity. His thoughts once more were pulled back to their briefing.

* * *

><p>"<em>Each squad will be equipped with one specialized Benelli Shotguns, fitted to fire specialized twelve gauge steel slugs. Along with that, all of you will also be using steel bullets with your weapons." spoke Graham, looking out at the soldiers.<em>

_It wasn't hard to tell that the soldiers were confused at this odd load-out, so Graham hit the button on the slide, bringing up an image of a young, pink haired woman. Looks of confusion crossed the face of the men as they looked at her, noticing most of all the distinct cat-ear-like-appendages on her head. _

_Graham watched them all before looking at the photo. "This men, is a diclonius, this is our goal. This photo is simply to show you what they generally look like, not actually after this one in particular. Not much is known about these women, I say that because as far as our intelligence is aware of there are no males, but we know little in regards to their biology other than that the majority have hair color that is red in hue in some fashion."_

_The men were still watching the picture with curiosity, considering none had seen an individual with horns. What was about them that required the SAS and Delta Force to be the troops involved in their recovery?_

_Graham began talking again, the answers the men were looking for quickly being provided to them. "These diclonius are capable of projecting powerful telekinetic abilities in the form of invisible hands, labeled simply as vectors." A click of the remote and pictures of various war materials showed up. Rifles, body armor, various guns, even a vehicle was brought up, all of them having been sliced cleanly and smoothly in some fashion. The truck in particular was sliced cleanly in half. The next slide though, made a couple soldier visibly shift and gulp. Two slides, containing six pictures, showed several military personal either sliced in two, missing limbs, some even being decapitated. What got to the men was how unnaturally clean and smooth the wounds were, nothing even the sharpest of knives could ever hope to make. _

"_This, men, "Graham said, "Is why we cannot let these individuals move the five stasis pods they are holding. These vectors are capable of shearing just about anything in half and are even able to block most small arms fire. While we are not sure the extent at which they can block, we do know that essentially, the greater kinetic and durability a projectile has, the greater chance it has of breaking through the vectors. Now, it is not important who these individuals are, all we know is that they are in possession of five diclonius and they intend to ship them off to somewhere unknown. We will not let them happen. Our mission is to either secure these stasis pods, or to kill their contents and prevent their escape. Understood?" Nobody said anything as they simply stared at the photos, Urbain's eyes falling on one individual missing both arms, his head, and his torso having been sliced in half down the middle. Urbain was shocked to see that the body armor the soldier was still wearing had been sliced through as well._

* * *

><p>The sound of shouting and gunshots woke Urbain out of his thoughts, all coming from within the warehouse. Something bad was happening, as nobody had received the command to move yet from Captain Graham or Captain Gwever. They did however hear Graham speak over the radio, "Reaver, what the hell is going on inside there? Has Sandman been compromised?" Reaver was the call-sign given to the Dauphin helicopter that was providing an aerial view for the soldiers on the ground. "Sandman here, we haven't been compromised. The guards are engaging something at the moment." The gunshots could still be heard from inside the warehouse, all members of the task force waiting patiently for their next orders.<p>

"I have several personnel moving quickly inside, and- Holy shit, that guy just got sliced in two! Those diclonius are out of the pods it seems. Not sure how many are free or left alive but those poor SOBs aren't lasting very well against those nasty lasses."

"Dammit, alright men, move in and eliminate everything. Extreme caution and hove those shotguns ready. Enter from your respective positions and watch the crossfire, now move it!" Graham said, Urbain and the rest of the squad already shooting out the windows and sliding down the slanted roof, soaked from the rain. They landed on the ground below, Walker and his team already having made their way to the warehouse doors with Arem's quickly moving up behind them. Walker's team stacked up on one door, Urbain following Arem as they made their way around the corner and to another doorway. After stacking up, they checked to make sure the entrance was clear and then proceeded down the hallway.

Suddenly, Gwever's voice came over the radio, gunshots heard in the background. "Fuck! These ladies are pissed off! Be hyper vigilant and get those "Thors" ready!" There was a scream in the background, followed by Gwever shouting something before his radio cut out.

"Move men and take out anything you see besides each other!" said Graham over the radio. Urbain and his squad mates could hear the sound of a shotgun blasting away at the end of the hallway they were in. They could also see the flash of the gun, followed by a Delta operative backing up around it firing rapidly down the hallway. The operative then quickly turned and dived into the hallway Urbain and his team was located as they saw a steel girder embed itself in the wall, having flown right through the spot the man had just been standing in. All of them froze and readied themselves, Arem having the "Thor" ready. The Delta operative was quickly on his feet and took up a prone position in front of the SAS squad and reloaded his shotgun.

All they saw next was the floating bodies of two Delta members, Captain Gwever one of them, come around the corner, both hanging limply in front of a woman as she rounded the corner as well. She looked only to be in her late teens and had the telltale horns of a diclonius. They all stood still, watching the horned woman slowly begin walking towards them. "Open fire!" Arem shouted as he took aim and fired the shotgun, the Delta member and the rest of the squad following suit. The bodies then shifted and moved into the path of the bullets, twitching and jerking as they were struck by the hail of steel. Nothing seemed to hit the woman at first, but when Arem turned his aim lower and fired at the woman's legs, they suddenly heard her cry out in pain as her leg was severed at the knee as a steel slug punched through it. She suddenly fell over, dropping both bodies and giving the soldiers a clear shot. She never had a chance to recover as the bullets peppered her repeatedly.

"Cease fire!" Arem said as they all stopped shooting, everyone taking the chance to also reload their weapons. They all looked at the bodies of the two dead Delta members before at the now dead diclonius who was covered in bullet wounds. Once they were sure she was dead, Arem turned to the survivign operative. "What happened?" Sgt. Arem asked.

"We were moving along this floor, Captain Gwever and the rest of my squad, we came across some guards retreating into the hallway." He sounded a little shaken, but true to his job he was still maintaining his composure overall. "Next thing, two poor bastards torn in two fly around the corner followed by one of those diclonius. I had the "Thor", but then the bitch hit me with fucking corpse!" He finished reloading the shotgun before looking back at Arem. "I heard Captain Gwever shout, but when I finally got back to my feet…well she got my entire squad. That's pretty much when you ran into me."

"Just peachy…" Arem said before getting onto the radio. "Lima-5 here," Lima-5 was the call-sign of Arem's squad, "Quebec-3 is down, have one survivor with us at the moment. Continuing on to point Bravo, Lima-5 out." Arem then looked at the surviving Delta Operative. "Stick with us then, keep that thing ready. Now move." The whole squad was quickly moving in a line, one behind the other as they kept their eyes on every nook and cranny with their guns at the ready. As they passed the deceased diclonius, the DO fired one more slug into her head, partly to confirm she was dead and probably as vengeance for his entire team having been slaughtered.

Despite the stoic appearance, Urbain was rather stunned at the efficiency in which the diclonius had killed the guards, and especially the three DOs. He took a guess that the others were also rather stunned, as he could see how much more alert they were. Everybody was watching their sector with such attentiveness, and Urbain could feel the adrenaline now surging through him.

They found themselves entering the main area of the warehouse, which was rather large and empty with a few crates scattered about. A few catwalks ran around above them, forming the majority of the second floor. There was a small office at the top of some stairs, and also led out to the catwalks. In the center of the room there was a small crane used to lift freight off boats that would anchor, such as the small freighter that was there at the moment. As they moved further into the main area, they could make out the glare of lights off the blood splattered along the crates and floors; Urbain could see the team visibly freeze when they noticed the many dismembered guards and five empty metal pods.

Urbain began a count in his head, they had just killed one at the cost of three Delta members, and he felt better when he noticed the corpse of a second diclonius. Three were left in this building, but he had no idea where they could be. They all turned their attentions towards the sound of a loud crash, followed by a female scream as they watched a body crash through the window of the second floor office. They all kept their guns trained on the area, but when they saw the familiar tactical gear of a Delta Operator; Urbain breathed a sigh of relief. The operative noticed them and gave them a thumbs up, two others walking up beside him. "Sandman here, took one of them out if you didn't notice. How many does that leave us with?"

Arem looked around the area before back at Sandman who, the rest of the team going back to covering their various sectors. "We killed off one earlier; unfortunately it took all but one of Quebec-3, with that kill it means we have two more of them left so keep your eyes open for them."

"Roger that. Any guards left?" Asked Sandman

"Not that we are aware of," Arem said back before turning to look at his team. "Spread out and search this area, be cautious and retreat if you find a diclonius." Urbain nodded as he started making his way between the crates, keeping his M4 at the ready the whole time. He was quite astounded at the viciousness of these guards' deaths. It was like the photos they had seen at the briefing, quite literally as Urbain looked down at a soldier missing his arms, eyes, and also his legs. This was the first time he'd ever seen someone killed in such a fashion, especially with the weapons and other equipment he had been wearing was just as damaged.

Just where did these…Urbain was trying to think of an appropriate word, all he could come up with was mutants, come from? This was the first time he, or anybody on this mission for that matter, had even heard or seen these diclonius. It probably wasn't even in public knowledge that these things were being moved about, or for that matter even existed. Here's hoping that no one decides to keep this secret, Urbain thought.

Stopping in his tracks, Urbain opened his ears up as he heard a sound he couldn't identify at first. At least, he couldn't at first because he didn't believe it was the sound that it really was. It was someone crying, what sound like a young girl; assuming no little girls had sneaked their way into this port, none of the guards of the pods were a young woman, and Urbain was pretty sure none of his team mates cried in that fashion. He kept his M4 at the ready as he slowly and silently approached the source of the noise. Reaching the area where the crying was louder, he looked against a nearby wall to see a decapitated guard, his face frozen with an expression of shock. Urbain took a deep breath before he slowly peeked around a crate where the girl could be heard.

He wasn't surprised to see a diclonius, but this particular one looked only to be twelve or thirteen years old. She was so young, and there was blood sprayed across her face and torso which probably belonged to the headless corpse nearby. She'd yet to notice Urbain, mostly because he was barely peeking around the corner and also because she had her face buried in her hands as she continued to cry. These were the dangerous creatures they were after? The first diclonius they had engaged certainly fit the bill, but this young girl? She looked more scared than hostile. Hopefully Urbain's next move wouldn't end up getting himself killed.

Without revealing himself just yet, he spoke up. "Hey, little girl." She immediately jerked her head up, looking around frantically as she tried to back herself up, however with her back to the crate already there was nowhere left for her to go. "Hold on, hold on. I'm not here to hurt you." He decided to make a bold move, slowly emerging from around the corner with his hands raised, his M4 hanging on his front via the sling. He remained standing there as she stared at him, wide eyed and clearly frightened.

"Hold on, look I'm not with these guys." Urbain said as he nodded his head towards the dead guard. "I'm with the British military, we were sent here to get you out of here." She continued to watch him, but she was beginning to relax. However, she was still cautious and had yet to cease her sniffling. He had to think of a way to win her trust over, and judging by the way she was eying his M4 he figured one way to achieve that trust. Boy did he feel stupid as very slowly, he took hold of the barrel of the M4. "Look, I'll set this on the floor, that way you know I don't intend to hurt you. Ok?" The girl kept her eyes on him the whole time as Urbain slowly set the M4 on the floor.

Standing up once more with his hands still up he spoke again while watching her, "I promise you, my friends and I came here to rescue you from those nasty fellas over there."

She looked at the dead guard, and then back to him; he smiled some as he managed to break the tension enough that she worked up the courage to speak. "Y-you don't…your voice….it sounds funny..!" Urbain chuckled some, knowing he could never hope to hide his French accent, not even from a little girl.

"Oui, je ne fais pas." Urbain smiled more (though she would never notice the smile hidden by the balaclava he wore) as the girl blinked, obviously confused and not understanding what he said. He continued on, "I was not born in the United Kingdom. I was born and raised in the country of France, so English is not my first language." He watched her relax, so he took the chance and knelt down in front of her. She tensed up some at his sudden movement, but when she saw him do nothing beyond that she slowly began to relax once more.

"I-I, um, I don't know…I've never heard of a place called France!" she stammered out the sentence as she watched him. The poor girl, with how scared she looked, Urbain didn't imagine she met strangers much. He wondered if a portion of her life had been spent either within the stasis pod of sealed up somewhere very secret. He could infer the latter option, considering this was the first time anybody on the team was learning of these…He paused in thought. Mutants? That just seems harsh of a thing to say. Sure they had quite the destructive ability, but this young girl seemed just as frightened as any other girl her age would when left in a situation like this. Mutant may be the technical term, but it just felt insulting.

"It's a country rather close to Britain. Give or take about a thousand miles or so." He said

"W-Well, ok then…" She was still sniffling, but she didn't appear to be scared of Urbain as much as she had been originally. She was quite adorable, granted all she had on was a rather raggedy dress, but she had short dark pink hair with some adorable crimson eyes to go along with it. She didn't look or act anything like the diclonius they had initially engaged.

Urbain held out a hand to her, the young girl looking at it like it was a bear trap. "It's ok, I promise you. My friends and I are here to move you somewhere safe." He made no movement to grab hold of her, knowing that if he tried to be forceful he wouldn't be leaving this place alive. So he just left his hand out there, waiting for her to make the movement. She watched his hand, and then looked at him, very slowly reaching out and taking hold of his hand. Once she did, Urbain nodded his head, taking hold of her hand back as he stood up. He had picked up his M4 as he did so, though the girl didn't react to him doing so. She quickly scampered behind his legs though, trying to hide from somebody approaching them from nearby. Urban brought his rifle up, aiming it at the approaching target, the Delta operative who simply went by Sandman quickly holding up a hand.

"Hold on, hold on, Sandman here. Sorry to have snuck up like that." He said as he glanced down at the diclonius hiding behind Urbain. Like the Frenchmen, Sandman also had his features hidden behind a balaclava. The only thing Urbain could tell was that the man was at least white but that was it. Urbain didn't even know the man's actual name, just that he held the rank of Staff Sergeant. "I see you made a friend there, glad to know we'll be able to get one of them out of here." Urbain nodded his head as he lowered his rifle.

"You find anybody else?" Urbain asked.

"Negative, just more dead guards but we can't locate the last diclonius. Reaver is scanning the area, so hopefully the last diclonius hasn't gotten too far away.

The little girl then quickly moved out from behind Urbain, looking at Sandman, "M-My sister! Where is she?" she said it with a rather frantic tone.

"I'm not sure, I'm sorry but I am not sure where she went to." responded Sandman as he looked down at her. She simply whimpered and clung to Urbain's pant leg

Urbain reached back and placed a hand on her head, looking at her. "We'll find her, don't worry." She looked up at him, nodding her head before Urbain looked back at Sandman. He was about to speak when they hear the sound of their squad mates screaming. Both soldiers were immediately on alert, Sandman quickly moving towards the source. Urbain looked down at the diclonius with him, "Stay here and hide. I'll be back here quickly for you alright?" She watched him, clearly scared to move away from the only friendly individual she had met in this place. He could see her hesitation, so he placed a hand on her shoulder, "I'll get you out of here, just like I promised." Another moments of hesitation before the diclonius nodded her head and slowly moved away from Urbain, who watched her for a moment before quickly moving towards the source of another scream and gunfire.

Urbain made it to the area, watching the previously missing diclonius cleave Sgt. Arem in half, his Benelli flying through the air and landing amongst other crates. All of the special force operatives turned and fired on the teenage diclonius, Cpt. Graham amongst them now. The diclonius was deflecting the bullets through the use of her vectors, also picking up a discarded gun and returning fire. She wasn't well trained in the use of the firearm, as she didn't manage to take out any of the operatives with her gun.

She screamed and fell forwards as a shotgun slug caught her shoulder, tearing a nasty wound in it. She fell onto the ground, dropping her weapon and holding her shoulder wound as Graham quickly ordered a cease fire. "We do not wish to terminate you, but you leave us no choice if you continue these hostilities." Graham said, keeping his "Thor" aimed at the wounded diclonius.

"You bastards are just going to do the same thing to us as those other ones were! I'd rather die than be locked up again!" She was onto her feet, a two crates launching through the air and knocking one of the operatives to the ground. She never made it far though, as all the gun fire once more and brought her down quickly. She lied there, hacking up blood and made a futile attempt to reach for the Cpt., but a moment later she was dead. Graham and the others lowered their weapons, the captain sighing miserably as he did so. " I'm sorry."

They all turned their heads to the sound of the last remaining diclonius girl screaming in dismay, quickly running to the recently killed one. "Sissy~!" She cried out as she quickly fell to her knees and hugged the corpse. Urbain felt his heart sink and he couldn't help but look away. He had just won the girl's trust, and in less than five minutes he turned from her savior to one of the killers of her sister. He tried to shut out the girl's hysterical sobs and cries, trying not to join her in crying.

Graham started walking towards the girl, holding a hand out to her. " I'm sorry, we didn't have a choice. She was going to kill u-" He never finished the sentence as he stopped in his tracks, eyes widening in shock. He stood there for only a moment before a seam appeared around his neck, followed by blood. Graham's lifeless body fell to the floor, his head rolling away from the newly formed corpse. Urbain jerked his head back, hearing the sound of two other operatives cry out in pain as one had his arms severed at the elbows, another having his torso explode out backwards, leaving a gaping hole in it.

Other soldiers immediately fired on the little girl, but once again their M4 rounds were doing nothing, the bullets appearing to hit an invisible wall as they attempted to reach their target. All of them quickly began scattering as crates, bodies, and just about everything began flying around the room. Most of it was aimed in the direction of the SAS and Delta members, though some just flew in random directions. More soldiers screamed as they were struck by the airborne material, Urbain having taken cover behind a steel support beam. He flinched as a crate smashed into the beam, both denting from the large impact.

Urbain closed his eyes, cursing at the fact that the situation had turned so bad, so fast. He had thought he would have been able to save the girl, but now she was the primary threat. He wasn't sure what to do, his mind growing more chaotic by the moment. As he began to realize he was losing control of his anxiety, it only furthered the problem. What do I do? What did I do wrong? Can I still save her? How many of the others are dead? All these questions were rocketing through his mind and Urbain was on the verge of losing control of himself.

Then he heard Sandman scream out a simple command, "Kill the diclonius!" Suddenly, all the thoughts stopped as his mind focused on that simple, single command. Kill the diclonius, his mind said. It echoed in his head and he knew exactly what he had to do. Quickly moving from the cover, he remained as low to the ground as he could while sprinting, hoping to remain out of sight of the enraged diclonius. Kill the diclonius his mind said once more, spurring Urbain on faster. He saw a discarded "Thor", lying next to its previous owner Sgt. Arem. While still in a sprint, Urbain snatched up the modified shotgun and did not stop his run.

He slid to the ground in time to dodge a crate that was aimed at him, having caught it out of the corner of his eye. Kill the diclonius, it didn't stop repeating the command. He peeked out, noticing the little girl's attention had turned towards Sandman and other soldiers who were quickly firing on her. Now was his moment, and in that moment, Urbain moved as fast he could carry himself. Sliding over a crate, the little girl turned in time to look straight into Urbain's eyes, staring into the man who only a few minutes later had just saved her. She never had time to react as Urbain had the "Thor" aimed right at her forehead. Her head barely twitched as a slug tore through it, spraying blood all behind her. Her body also twitched only slightly as Urbain fired off the remaining shells into her to make sure she would not get back up.

She fell backwards onto her sister's dead body, Urbain standing over them taking deep breaths. Staring at the girl, looking straight into her glazed eyes, he heard the command flow through his thoughts once more. Kill the diclonius it said. Over and over again his mind simply kept repeating the command. Urbain simply dropped the "Thor" as he kept his eyes fixed on the lifeless crimson of her eyes. It felt like she was staring back at him. His hands began to shake, and he felt scared inside as his mind spoke that command once more. His fate was sealed, he had been given a command and there was nothing more he could do to stop it. Urbain wanted to cry, but the adrenaline flowing through his system wouldn't allow it.

* * *

><p><strong>Obviously, I do not own Elfen Lied. Now this is actually a sequel to LunarSkies2383<strong>**'s story "The Butterfly Effect," which I would strongly suggest reading first so that you are not confused by any material that pops up in this story. I am aware of LunarSkies own sequel "Envoy of the Beginning", but I have asked for permission and I was given the green light to write one of my own, so you can think of our stories as alternate universes. It would be greatly appreciated that you also read "Envoy of the Beginning", so as to give respect to the original author of the inspiring fanfic.**

**So, here's hoping that you enjoyed this rather lengthy prologue. I'm not one to usually ask for reviews, but LunarSkies made a point in that reviews are a way for me to tell if you are reading and enjoying the story. Plus, I always enjoy criticism, whether negative or positive and it's reviews that help boost my drive to write these stories.  
><strong>


	2. Chapter 1

Yuki waited quietly, listening for any and every noise. She knew her target would be passing by this corner, as it did every day. The pathways led straight to this chokepoint and there was no avoiding it. After so long, she'd finally get her revenge, finally she'd be the one to get the drop on her target. She froze up, hearing the sound of footsteps approaching. Was it her? Was it the one Yuki was waiting for? She listened closer, grinning in satisfaction when she recognized the rather clumsy sound of her prey's walk. She bent her knees, loading her body up to spring out ambush the individual. The footsteps were getting closer, and as she saw a foot round the corner she attacked.

Nyu never saw it coming, and with a yelp she was tackled by her twin sister. Yuki could not cherish the victory though, as she had not taken into consideration the doorway to the closet that was located in the path of the tackle zone. She also did not consider how the door opened inwards, so when the weight of the two young girls collided with it, it provided little to no resistance. What followed was the crash and bang of the closet's contents falling and burying the twins in a pile of various cleaning products.

Kaede slowly peered into the hallway where the closet was, staring at the heap that was her two eleven year old daughters and a vacuum cleaner. She couldn't help but chuckle at the image, clearly the result of poor planning; she wished she had a camera to capture the moment, both so Kohta would be able to see the mess his little girls had made and also as a way to possible get back at the girls should they try to pull something on the adults. Yuki would just die if her friends saw how she was not only tangled up with the vacuum cord but also being sat upon by Nyu.

"Augh…..what hit me?" Nyu asked as she sat up, placing her hand on the back of Yuki's head as support, Kaede giggling more as Yuki's face was pressed into the floor. Kaede just pointed down, Nyu glancing at her mother then looking down. Nyu then blinked, cocking her head to the side in confusion. "Oneesan, why are you lying there?"

"Get off me!" Yuki shouted as she pushed Nyu off, who fell onto her rump with a light thud. "It was because you fell on me!" Yuki sat up, glaring at Nyu.

"I did?" Nyu scowled as she tried to think through what had happened. "Does that mean you were hiding in the closet then? Why were you in the closet Oneesan?" Nyu asked as she cocked her head to the side again. It was something she always did whenever she was confused.

"Wait, what? No! I wasn't in the closet, why would I be in the closet!" It was Yuki's turn to be confused.

"Then how did I fall on you if I fell into the closet and you weren't in the closet?"

"Um, well…that's not important!"

"Alright girls, we need to get you ready and off to your aunt's." said Kaede as she just watched the two with a smile. "So get up and get moving, please."

"Ok!" Nyu said as she was already on her feet and running to her room, Yuki standing up and brushing herself off before following her energetic twin sister. Their mother just watched them go, shaking her head as she walked over to the mess the two had made and quickly began cleaning it up. The two always managed to make her laugh or at least chuckle every day. Though she couldn't lie when she said it reminded her of her own times with her sister, the twin's aunt, Nyu. Not to mention that the twins looked just like Kaede and her sister had when they were younger. Both Kohta and Kaede deeply missed the ditzy woman and the times they had spent together for so long. Despite the years that had passed, it never did feel the same to Kaede without her sister around and she wouldn't be surprised if Kohta felt the same. Those pains, however, were eclipsed by the wonderful memories she had of Nyu. Besides, Kaede felt it'd be more insulting to her sister if all she felt was pain towards Nyu's absence. Both she and Kohta knew that to honor their lost friend and sister, they had to live a happy and full life. It was exactly what the couple was doing and they would never cease doing so.

"For you, Oneesan." Kaede said with a smile as she wiped away a tear that had crept its way into her eye. She sometimes had dreams about what life would have been like if Nyu had been alive; of course those dreams became nightmares when Kaede thought about the two Nyu's uniting. Even thinking about it made her shudder; the world might become unhinged if that level of Nyu-ness existed.

She looked down the hallway, watching said daughter approaching her with a little skip in her step, a smile on her face as well. That infectious smile of hers, it was something Kaede could never ignore and it always made her smile when she saw it as well. Yuki was not far behind her sister and carried a backpack with her, which more than likely contained either schoolwork or a random assortment of books. Both girls wore something atop their head to hide their horns, Nyu choosing to sport a pair of ribbons wrapped around them while Yuki had a simple beanie. Yuki was definitely the brightest of the twins (not that Kaede thought of Nyu as stupid) as the girl was just fascinated with learning. She seemed to have this hunger to learn that could never be satisfied and it was craving to learn about anything. It made Kaede happy to see such dedication, but it did worry her some in regards to her social life. She had some close friends, Kaede knew that, rather it was how she never was out and about playing with other children. Of course, Kaede was never a social bug herself and she managed, quite well she might add. This is why she was not too worried about Yuki; she would eventually find her place.

"You girls ready?" asked Kaede as they both walked up to her.

Nyu nodded her head, always excited to travel anywhere. She was an explorer of the world in a similar level to how Yuki was an explorer of books. Nyu was always looking for somewhere new to go and explore, which had pros and cons of its own. It was great for Kaede to see her daughter so active and having fun, the problem could be keeping track of the goofy little girl. Kaede smiled as she looked at Yuki, who was adjusting the straps to her backpack, "You ready Yuki?" she looked up at her mother and nodded. "Alright, let's get going then. I'm sure your aunt is anxious to see you two again."

"She's always excited to see us mom," Yuki said with her usual calm tone. She really did remind Kaede of herself when she was younger. Not very excitable and quiet, and according to her teachers Yuki was this way within school most of the time. She'd answer most questions she was asked politely, but would not usually continue a conversation beyond that point. Kaede was happy to at least know Yuki fell under the category of "polite children."

"True, true, now let's get going you slowpokes!" Fortunately it wasn't a school day, which meant Kaede was not in too big a rush. Still, she needed to get to the hospital and the bus ride to there would take a good thirty to forty minutes.

"Ok!" shouted Nyu as she rushed out the door, Yuki and Kaede following at a more leisurely pace. Kaede was glad that Kanae lived close by, as it meant that Kohta and Kaede could be more secure in the knowledge their children were somewhere safe. Well, relatively safe considering Kanae had taken up responsibility (one she choose to do without input from Kaede or Kohta) of teaching the girls the martial arts. It didn't really bother the parents that the twins were practicing the martial arts knowing that such training would give the twins another sense of protection; rather it was that Kanae didn't tell the two of them. They had discovered the lessons when the twins had come home, Yuki blabbering on about the different techniques she learned leaving Kaede to wonder if she was going to pass out from the lack of air she was inhaling; while Nyu on the other hand had quite the black eye that Yuki had been so kind to give to her sister.

Eventually, Kaede was between the two girls as they walked down the street holding Nyu's hand as the excited girl watched whatever happened to be going by, whether it be sentient or not. Yuki walked quietly on the right side of her mother, also watching the surrounding but with less interest then her sister. It wasn't long before they had reached Kanae's house, as she only lived a couple blocks away. Nyu was first to the door, knocking rapidly on the door before waiting for an answer, shifting on her feet continuously with excitement. As the door opened, Nyu sprung in an attempt to hug-bush, Nyu's combination of "ambush" and "hug", her aunt who had opened the door. It was futile however, as Kanae quickly caught the young girl and spun around with the momentum before setting her down, grinning. Kanae lived alone in the small house of hers, though according to Kohta she had recently begun dating someone she had met at a gym not to long ago.

"So close there Nyu, but you just weren't fast enough!" said Kanae, ruffling up Nyu's hair and chuckling at her adorable little frown.

"Ah man! I'll get you one day obasan! I swear it!" Nyu said, pointing right at Kanae.

Kanae just grinned and poked Nyu's nose, "I know you will, but it won't be today!" She then pulled her hand back and turned to look at Yuki. "And how are you Yuki? Brought more books to read, hm?"

Yuki nodded as she looked up at her aunt, "Are we going practice more today?" she asked, the excitement quite obvious in her eyes. Kanae watched her, and then glanced up at Kaede, who nodded her head. A big smile appeared on Kanae's face as she looked down at Yuki. "Sure will! So you best be ready."

Yuki was now smiling, spontaneously hugging her aunt and causing her to chuckle. Kanae patted Yuki's back before pulling back and looking at her. "Now go put your backpack away alright?"

"Alright!" Yuki vanished into the house, Nyu blinking and looking around for her.

"Oneesan vanished!"

Kanae slapped her forehead, Kaede chuckling as she looked at Nyu. "She just ran inside was all, go find her and give her a big hug." Kaede said.

Nyu gasped at the idea like it was some huge revelation, "Great idea okaasan, love you bye!" she said before vanishing into the house after her sister. Kanae was shaking her head, chuckling some while she looked at Kaede.

"She is something; I'm not sure how you or Kohta manage." Kanae said.

"If you had grown up with my sister, you'd understand where I get my experience from." Kaede said smiling. Kanae chuckled at this.

"Good point, and don't you worry about them practicing. I'll make sure they don't get hurt, alright?"

"Thank you, Kanae. Also, mind telling Yuki in particular not to practice on her sister without any supervision? Nyu was rather lucky she landed on the bed last time Yuki tried a hip toss…" Kanae chuckled nervously.

"Yeah, will do. Sorry about that. So do you and Kohta have a long work day today?"

Kaede nodded and sighed, "Yeah, you may have to give the dinner. I apologize, Kanae."

"Oh, no worries. Never bothers me to feed them. It's usually the girls who complain about my cooking anyways." She said with a grin while Kaede chuckled.

"Alright, thank you very much Kanae. Now I need to get going before I miss the bus. Don't hurt my girls you got that?"

Kanae gave a mock shifty glance, "I have no idea what you are referring to…" Kaede chuckled and looked past Kanae.

"Bye girls! Play nice!" both she and Kanae flinched when they heard a loud crash, followed by Nyu innocently saying, "oopsie…". Kanae looked at Kaede.

"I'll handle the demons, don't you worry! Now get going before you are late!" Kanae said.

"Alright, bye." Kaede then turned and left, beginning her walk down the street as Kanae turned and went back inside her home. Kaede began her walk back to the bus station, which wasn't too far from Kanae's home. Though Kaede didn't mind walking through town, the hospital where she and Kohta worked was on the other side of town from where they lived, so it was just easier and quicker to take the bus over. She watched around, glancing around at the various people going about their commute. Occasionally, she'd spot a diclonius amongst the commuters some of which had various headwear to hide the horns atop their head. Kaede herself also wore something to cover her horns, choosing a pair of ribbons like Nyu had. Before, she never would have chosen them, but after the incident she found them to be a nice choice over a hat. She wondered if this was something she had inherited form her sister Nyu when Kaede, Lucy, and Nyu had merged personalities. Whatever it was, the hospital also played a role in choosing ribbons. Doctors weren't allowed to wear hats beyond religious purposes, and Kaede found the ribbons cast her in a more innocent and charming persona. Something that was really beneficial as it meant she was less intimidating to any of her patients.

It'd been over ten years since their existence was first shown to the world, and it was difficult for Kaede to judge just how humans and diclonius were getting along overall. She did her best to keep up to date on such matters, but with her work and raising the twins she didn't always have the time to check on international news. What she did know though was that diclonius had to be careful regardless. Some people were more accepting of the new race, and in some cities of Japan they were generally welcome. However, she also knew that because of the power a single diclonius had, they were sometimes attacked by frightened people or socially exiled from communities. It was mainly for this reason that Kohta and her had decided to live within Kamakura rather than move elsewhere. It was one of the few places where diclonius were accepted as a part of the community. Granted, Lucy and Kaede's/Nyu's fight may have made a rather large mess, and in the aftermath relations between diclonius and humans were tense within the city. When people found about the diclonius, especially upon discovering the incident had been caused by two fighting, skepticism about diclonius quickly began to grow. It took a couple of years before tension began to dissipate, but it wasn't until word got out of Kaede's work in the medical field that coexistence between the two species could begin. When she and Kohta married it also helped to relieve some of the ever-present tension, or at least within Japan. It was a sign to people that there was a possibility for peaceful coexistence.

Diclonius were still seen as a threat though; there was no doubt about that. She didn't have to search deep into news articles to understand how some people were reacting around the world. Some countries were rather frightened by the notion of such powerful individuals roaming free and this led to a furious crackdown by some countries. This fear was easily noticed due to the rise of private security firms dedicated to dealing with diclonius. Most were small companies that worked within their respective counties, but most noticeable was the large organization Hephaestus, a company that had evolved to the level of a Private Military Corporation. The residents of Japan never really saw much of Hephaestus and its troops mostly because the company has its headquarters within Germany and worked mostly with the European powers, but also because Japan had its own forces to deal with rowdy diclonius. Kaede hoped things would never escalate to the point of requiring a company dedicated to the art of killing her race to station itself in Japan. It was not an environment she'd ever want to watch her children grow up in, and though she wasn't always able be a major activist in positive diclonius-human relationships, she always did her best to set a good example for her race.

Kaede looked up and towards the bus stop, noticing it was pretty quiet, with two other individuals there. One she didn't recognize as it was just a random commuter using this particular stop on this day, but the other individual had been boarding the bus here for a couple weeks now. While he himself didn't seem to draw much attention, it was what he wore around his neck that always drew her eye. She didn't recognize what country the man was from, but his dog tags clearly indicated he either currently served or had military service with a country. It wasn't military personnel that made her wary; as any that tried to give her any trouble very quickly discovered she could return the "trouble" tenfold. What the dog tags hung between though did cause some apprehension. She remembered when she had first seen him and saw the two bones that hung on his necklace, she had guessed they originated from some small animal or something. However, upon closer inspection she realized that he was actually wearing a pair of diclonius horns, drilled through to allow the chain to pass through them. Most people were oblivious to what they actually were, but it raised questions for her. What it was about him that put her off was how casual he seemed about them. He never made an attempt to keep them from view and occasionally she'd see him rub his thumb across them like a worry stone. It was also the difficulty at gauging his feelings that put her off. It wasn't that she was not able to sense his emotions; rather it was how calm he always seemed despite wearing what would be considered offensive to some in public. Yet he didn't seem to wear them to gloat and boast about his achievement of, Kaede assumed, killing a diclonius. It was this indifference that was interesting. She did her best to maintain a friendly smile as she walked up to the stop, saying a simple hello to them as she sat down to wait.

All of them kept to themselves as they remained there; waiting the few minutes it took for the bus to arrive. When it did, they all waited for passengers to disembark and then the three of them boarded. Kaede was second in the line, and she was surprised at how packed the bus was this particular day. Almost every seat was taken, with only three seats open, including a row that had none. She frowned when the stranger ahead of her took the empty seat, leaving only the empty row which could fit two people. So as she paid her toll and took her seat, it was clear she'd be sitting next to the man with the dog tags. She maintained a friendly demeanor as he sat down next to her, Kaede giving a polite nod before turning to look out the window. As the bus began moving, she couldn't help but glance at the horns on the man's neck, though she did do her best to pretend she was just looking around at the scenery. Course it was a pretty awful attempt, as there never was much to look at when on a bus and it was pretty clear her attempt had failed miserably when he spoke.

"Don't worry, they aren't trophies if that's what has you worried." She blinked and looked at him, the man returning the look with a friendly smile. "It's not hard to notice how you keep looking at the horns." Kaede gave an embarrassed chuckle and smile, rubbing the back of her head as she did so.

"My apologies, sir." Kaede said. She was caught off guard slightly by his heavy European accent, though she couldn't place the exact country it was from. She wasn't too familiar with the typical physical characteristics of the European nations, but if she did have to hazard a guess, she'd have placed him with a nation closer to the Mediterranean based upon his dark brown hair and matching eyes. Based on his slightly tanned skin, she could assume he probably spent a lot of time outside.

"It's fine; they aren't what I would call a subtle fashion statement, especially to individuals who recognize where they originated from. Probably don't portray me in the best light either." He chuckled some, yet to Kaede it sounded almost like it was a sarcastic laugh. Those horns held some history for this individual and Kaede wasn't guessing it was the best of times.

"I still apologize for staring at times. Sometimes I can't help it, especially with how you wear them so openly; not that I'm trying to be insulting." She had to admit this wasn't the easiest of conversations for her, mostly because she was trying to not sound rude as she talked. However he didn't seemed phased at all, rather he chuckled once more and this time with what actually sounded legitimate.

"Not to mention I wear them with these." He said as he patted the dog tags, "Most individuals, diclonius especially, might be cautious of an ex-soldier who not only waves his service in everyone's face but also that he had killed diclonius before. Quite a dodgy thing to do on my part honestly. " Whomever these horns belonged to, Kaede could easily recognize they must have been important in some way to this man judging by the sadness in his tone at mentioning the killing of a diclonius. At this point, despite her curiosity, she figured she wouldn't press any on the subject. She did not have to though, as he picked the conversation back up again. "It's not something to really boast about; at least I see no purpose in doing so."

"If you don't mind me asking, and feel free say if you wish to not discuss it, why kill them? Obviously being a soldier entails the possible use of lethal force, that I understand, but why were the orders given in the first place?"

"The only time we were ever ordered to kill a diclonius is for the same reason we might be ordered to kill any other bloke, and that was because they were a threat to people's livelihood. Any other time, it was just a matter of survival. It was a simple as kill or be killed in most cases." He had begun to rub his thumb on one of the horns, looking ahead as he spoke.

"I see then…" Kaede didn't feel any bit satisfied with the answer, because it only left more for her. What constituted as a "dangerous to society" diclonius in the eyes of, wherever he was from? While it might be good to hear he's only killed them out of self-defense in some cases, that vague description of "dangerous" still left her upset. "So then, when is a diclonius dangerous to society?" He looked at her, his thumb still rubbing the horn, taking in her question before looking off ahead as he thought about it. "I'm sorry if that seems offensive or insulting," She said, "but it's fears like that that make life difficult for diclonius around the world." It hadn't been her goal this morning to get into an argument about racism towards diclonius, and it really was not the way she wanted to start her day either. She was glad when she noticed he didn't seem angry or even offended by her question.

"Wish I could tell you ma'am, we were mostly told that a diclonius was out and about killing people and were told to eliminate them. We only became involved when the situation needed a dead diclonius; we were never told why they might be acting in such a way. The higher ups, damn tossers, would brush off the question if anybody raised it regardless, so we simply did what needed to be done and we took out a threat to innocents. Same way we'd handle any human who reacted in such a way." He had turned to look at her as he said, looking her in the eyes the whole time. He then looked away as he started speaking once more. "Most of us never looked forward to the idea, I say most because there were some amongst us that were some serious nutters. None of us..." He paused for a moment; no, rather he hesitated. "None of us killed a diclonius beyond orders or necessity."

He did seem genuine in his words, though the hesitation at the last statement did catch her attention. "Where are you from? It's pretty clear that you aren't a native to Japan." She said.

He chuckled, "What gave it away? I thought I had been hiding my accent pretty well." She shook her head at the response. She knew he was trying to lighten the mood in regards to the subject matter they had just discussed. She decided to go along with it, mostly because she didn't want a sour morning, so she simply smiled at his joke. "Originally, I was born and raised in France, and then I moved to the England when I was eighteen. It was in the United Kingdom where I did my service. It's been close to two years since I left."

"I've never visited either of those countries, let alone Europe for that matter. Though they seem like they'd be nice vacation destinations. You live within the cities?" She asked.

"When I moved to England my time was first spent within London until I signed up for service. I never really spent much time in one particular location as I was always on active duty during my entire service. As for France, I grew up in rural areas. My family was always struggling for money so I never got a chance to see the big cities; course there was no real reason to go to begin with." He shrugged at the thought as he looked at her, "Not that it really bothers me; I've done plenty of traveling to satisfy myself." He smiled as he looked at her.

"You said you are no longer serving, right? What brings you here then?" She asked him. Needless to say, the reason she loved Kamakura was because of how quiet it was. There were no big factories, no big businesses beyond stores and other shopping outlets, and certainly no military installations as far as she was aware. The closest thing she could think of in regards to a military station was the diclonius research center off shores. Though granted it was a stain on the history of human-diclonius relationships, the government and local authorities had decided to reinstate it as a research center. However, she knew as well as others that it was not as dreary and hostile a location for diclonius as it had been before. It had a two-part job nowadays; one was to research diclonius as it had before, though with far more humane conditions and experiments. Its secondary part was to act as a shelter for diclonius that may have been on the run from mounting discrimination or simply had no place to live. People were still weary of it at first, as residency there required adult diclonius to participate in the research; as years went on though the government and agencies had kept to their word and from what Kaede could understand the dark history that surrounded it was slowly beginning to fade. She could never believe that it'd ever be gone though, and that only diclonius desperate for food and shelter, or ignorant to its past, would choose to live within its walls.

"Business trip, actually. I work for a weapons manufacturer and Kamakura is really just a stop on where I need to be." He answered.

"Interesting profession, must suit you rather well then."

He gave her a smile, though Kaede noted a slight change in his attitude. It was small, but she noticed a hint of sadness; rather, it was a sense of dread that passed over him. It was gone a moment later, replaced once more with that calm demeanor. "It is and does, I can't lie about that."

A thought crossed her mind about his story, in regards to Kamakura simply being a "stop" along the road. If he was just passing through, then why had she been seeing him at this same stop for the past couple weeks? "If you are only passing through Kamakura, then why have I been seeing you on this bus for a couple of weeks now? Seems like a long time to be sitting at a 'stop'." She said to him.

This time she could see his eyes shift some, the same look she sees when her children try to lie to her. It was not there for long though, as the man was quick to regain his composure. "Not all business trips go smoothly ma'am, it sucks yes and I wish I knew why I was being held up here. However, all they tell me is that I need to wait here." Kaede nodded her head, still a skeptical about him. He then sighed and rubbed his head, "I'm sorry if I seem so evasive. In all honesty I'm not supposed to talk about these things with non-specified individuals." Now it was her turn to be confused once more; just what was he talking about she thought. "My employer is quite an arse about keeping business dealings quiet, but I have to listen our else the bloody bastard will fire me."

At this point, she wasn't sure if he was lying or not. If he was lying, then he was quite adept at it. She couldn't pry anymore though as he said a quick "Excuse me", then reached up and pulled the cord running along the wall of the bus, signaling for the driver to stop. He stood up and looked at her with a smile once more, "It was a pleasure talking to you, always nice to start a day with some good conversation."

She smiled back and nodded, "It was, my name is Kaede by the way, forgot to introduce myself." He was not able to hide it this time, the hesitancy evident on his face as he looked around nervously. She raised an eyebrow at his reaction, and it also put her on edge. She was wondering what it was about her name that put him on edge, though she found out quickly that it wasn't necessarily her name that upset him.

"No offense, but…I'd rather keep my name a secret. It's stained with enough blood already." Her eyes widened some in surprise, not having expected that answer. He gave her a curt nod, and before she could ask anything else he was off the bus and walking down the street. He didn't cast a second glance at the bus as it drove past him, though Kaede watched him with a mix of curiosity and anxiety. He seemed like a nice individual, but his last comment had her a little worried. Was he referring to the weapons he built as the source of his discomfort, or maybe his past experience? If so then, why be worried about saying it now when his past was, well just that, his past? She kept thinking about this until it was her turn to signal for a stop, where she thanked the bus driver and began the short walk from the bus stop to the hospital.

She greeted the receptionist at the front desk as she walked into the hospital, waving and smiling at the many familiar faces of the staff as she made her way through the hallways. Things seemed rather quiet today, which was good for two reasons. One: it meant people weren't being hurt (or at least not enough to require medical attention), and two: it meant she'd have a quiet work day. Least she hoped it would remain that way. The bus ride was still on her mind as she entered the locker room and grabbed her white coat the doctors wore before heading to the clinic. It was where she always worked when she wasn't needed for any surgeries. She wondered where Kohta was at the moment, probably assisting the doctors who were performing surgeries. Course with how quiet things seemed he may have been floating around helping wherever he can.

As the hours rolled by, things remained as quiet as they had been when she first arrived that morning. Currently she was checking on a young girl whose mother had brought her in due to the little girl's coughing fits. Kaede didn't see anything serious, so she gave the little girl a warm smile as she sat down in a stool nearby. "Well, it just appears to be a bad cold is all." Kaede said as she quickly wrote down a prescription for the girl and handed it over to the mother. "Just give this to her twice a day and if things haven't improved by next week, bring her back in ok?"

"Thank you doctor." The mother said as she waved her daughter over.

"Anytime!" Kaede said, still smiling as she looked at the little girl. "Now, unfortunately I couldn't pick a medicine that tastes good," Kaede giggled some as the little girl frowned, "But if you want that nasty feeling in your throat to go away you need to take it, ok?"

"Ok…" The girl said in a somewhat dejected tone. Kaede held back another chuckle, but she couldn't help but be amused at how adorable the girl looked. It reminded her of her own twins, especially when they had to take some form of medication.

"Thank you. Have a nice day you two!" Kaede said, watching as the mother returned the goodbye then walked out of the room with her daughter. After they left, Kaede decided she take a break and made her way towards the cafeteria. As she made her way inside, she couldn't help but feel giddy inside when she saw Kohta sitting at a table eating with the head of surgery, Doctor Hiroshi Morioka. She quickly got her food and made her way over, Hiroshi looking over first and smiling when he noticed her. Kohta looked over just in time for Kaede to plop herself down next to him and kiss him. Kohta was taken caught off guard by the sudden assault, but having regained his composure he gladly returned the kiss to her.

After a few moments, they both were interrupted by the elderly Hiroshi speaking up, "Children, what have I said about the hospital being a family orientated atmosphere?" Kohta and Kaede separated, Kohta chuckling nervously while Kaede blushed some, rubbing the back of her neck. Hiroshi then chuckled softly, shaking his head as he spoke, "You two haven't been separated for that long, have you?"

Kohta smiled softly, looking at Kaede. "A few hours is to long for me honestly." Kaede rolled her eyes, smiling still though at how sappy Kohta could be at times. Hiroshi just gave them a deadpan look. The couple knew that he wasn't against their displays of affection (to a degree); rather the older gentlemen just enjoyed picking on the two of them. They had only been working at the hospital for three or four years now, and Dr. Morioka had been a good mentor and friend ever since they first arrived. He was in his early sixties, his grey hair and somewhat wrinkled skin providing evidence of that. He had been the reason Kaede had been hired, along with Kohta. The idea of a diclonius working within a hospital was not something the owners were very ecstatic about and for a year or two, Kaede had a difficult time finding work within the hospitals because of the discrimination and fear. However it changed when Kohta had met Dr. Morioka. Kohta had taken up a job offering in the Kamakura hospital despite Kaede being unable to join him at the time because the couple needed money if they were to be able to raise the girls in a comfortable home. He worked alongside the old surgeon for about a year, and eventually Dr. Morioka finally decided to give Kaede a chance. Kaede always smiled when she thought about how Hiroshi had described Kohta's attempts at convincing them to hire Kaede. "It was like a child begging for candy I swear! 'Oh doctor, she's super wonderful at fixing people up, she'll be able to fix up anybody, and she also has wonderful hair!' " He would also say it with a goofy tone to his voice and usually would throw in random things about Kaede at the end to further tease the couple; however the people within the hospital knew that he never did it out of malice. A few months after putting in a good word for the diclonius, Kaede was finally given a chance as was hired.

Though she always felt the pressured that she had to prove herself and that she didn't want to ruin the surgeon's reputation by failing him, she was actually glad for it. It made her work that much harder and she did everything in her power to save the people she worked on. She had never failed a person yet, and she owed it to this drive that she felt.

Hiroshi pinched the bridge of his nose before looking at them as he stood up to take care of his food, "Just do me a favor, if things get heated, make sure you aren't on my floor, alright?"

Kaede put her face in her palms, Kohta almost choking on his drink as he watched the doctor go. "Morioka!" he shouted, hanging his head as he heard Hiroshi laugh. "He can be cruel sometimes…"

Kaede pulled her face from her hands and then leaned against him. "Yes, yes he can be. Least it means these days are not too boring."

Kohta looked at her, smiling. "Yeah, no kidding. So the girls give you any trouble this morning?"

"I learned Yuki likes to snuggle with vacuum cleaners." She giggled when Kohta looked at her with a very bewildered look.

"Wait, what?"

"Yuki decided to surprise Nyu with a rather violent 'hug'. Unfortunately, Yuki didn't count on the closet door popping open and dumping its contents upon them."

"Sounds like a wonderfully exciting morning their Kaede." Hiroshi said as he sat back down across from them.

Kaede nodded, sitting up off of Kohta and looking at Hiroshi. "Oh, it was indeed. So I see nothing much is happening today."

Hiroshi shook his head, "Nope, which is why I'm going to let you get off early Kaede. The only surgery scheduled for today is removing some poor boy's tonsils, nothing I can't handle. Kohta will be helping me, but you can head home early tonight before Yuki manages to give Nyu a black-eye again." Kaede hadn't forgotten the time the twins came home from their aunt's, only for Nyu to walk in with a black eye form where she had been punched by Yuki during a martial arts lesson. Kaede definitely gave Kohta's sister a mouthful that day about being more careful when teaching them those things.

"Thank you, when am I dismissed then?" Kaede asked.

"Another hour or two in clinic duty, then you are free to head home. Sound good?"

"Yeah it does, thank you very much sir."

"I've put up with you two enough that you can refer to me by my name, sheesh." He looked at Kaede, "I swear it's like dealing with my own children when I'm around you both." He said with a smile, Kohta and Kaede chuckling.

Kohta looked at Kaede again, "So anything else happen?"

Kaede's thoughts then came back to the ex-soldier on the bus that she ran into, "Yeah, I ran into an interesting individual on the bus today." Both the doctor and Kohta looked at her. "An ex-soldier, born and raised in France and served in the British army."

Hiroshi raised his eyebrows in surprise before they lowered back down as he spoke, "That is quite a life right there then. So why was he here?"

"I've seen him at the bus stop over the past couple weeks; he said he's here on a business trip for some, weapons manufacturing company. Of course he said Kamakura was just a 'stop' on his way, but...even that doesn't seem right."

Kohta spoke this time, "Huh, an interesting reason then. He mention a company name or anything?"

Kaede shook her head, "Nothing. The weirdest thing though, is when I asked for his name he suddenly looked frightened to say it, so instead he told me 'there's enough blood on my name,' and just left." Both Kohta and Hiroshi looked at one another before back at her. Kaede kept going though, feeling the need to mention the man's horns. "It was odd too because he wore a pair of diclonius horns with his dog tags." She reached up and lightly touched one of her own horns as she said it.

"That is, well for the lack of a better term, rather creepy I'd say." said Hiroshi. "Creepy and rather insulting to diclonius at that."

Kaede looked at Hiroshi, "He said he wasn't wearing them as trophies either; in fact when he mentioned having killed diclonius he actually sounded sad about it. Often times I'd even see him rubbing his thumb across them."

"You think maybe he lost a diclonius that was important to him? Sure it's not the most common thing to see human-diclonius couples, but it certainly happens from time-to-time." Kohta said, shifting in his seat some so he didn't have to turn his head as much to look at Kaede.

"I don't know Kohta, I wish I did but I don't. He never went into detail beyond how he had to fight some during his time in the army and that was it." She shook her head, feeling Kohta put an arm around her shoulders. "It was just, strange and a little frightening to be honest."

Kohta rubbed her shoulder to try and sooth her, she wasn't paralyzed with fear or anything but he couldn't blame her for being slightly on edge. The person he was picturing in his mind wasn't the kind of person he'd ever expect to run across while on a public bus. "Well, we'll just be more cautious when we travel around town, ok?" He smiled some when Kaede nodded and kissed the side of her head, his wife having a small smile of her own at the action.

Hiroshi stood up as he watched them, "Come on; let's get back to work ok? I'm sure it'll help settle your mind once things get going again." Kaede turned and gave Kohta a quick kiss on the lips, smiling before she stood up, followed by her husband. "I wasn't referring to _that_ kind of work you two…"

Kohta almost fell out of his seat as he went to stand up, quickly looking at the older man who had a grin on his face. "Morioka!"

"That's my name!" Morioka said before turning and walking out, Kaede chuckling at Kohta's defeated expression.

"Come on Kohta, you look like a fool right now." The two made their way out of the cafeteria, giving each other another kiss before they left for their shifts. The hours passed quickly before Kaede got herself ready to leave. Before she did, she gave Kohta another kiss goodbye then walked out into the streets, the sun beginning to set. She was excited she'd get to see the girls sooner, but the excitement slowly became a sense of anxiety as she looked around. Something felt off, though she wasn't sure what. She just shook her head and kept herself ready to protect herself if anything happened as she made her way towards Kanae's home.

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><p><strong><span>Location:<span> Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Kanto Region, Japan**

**Time: 1900**

**Date: March 22nd, 2017  
><strong>

"Come in Achilles, you reading us?" A man stood on the rooftop of a building not far from the hospital, watching it intently through the optics of his helmet. The voice that spoke to him came through the receiver located within his helmet, the voice of Muse. Muse was just the codename for headquarters whom Achilles was always in contact with when out on his missions.

"Yes, your good." Achilles watched the hospital quietly, optics focusing in on the target heading away from the hospital. "Just for the record, I still don't approve of this. I understand the need for field testing, but why her?" Because he was speaking into a microphone directly linked into his mask, they heard his natural voice rather than the distorted and machine like result that the voice changer of his mask created. They had questioned why he wanted something so ridiculous and useless, but to Achilles it was far more important to him than they could understand.

"She's the original, and one of the strongest. They figure that, if he can handle the best, then he can handle the rest."

"Please don't ever say that again, you sounded like a complete twat."

"You'll have to deal with me sounding like a twat then."

"Lucky me." He still was unhappy with the reasoning. He knew this was the big moment the eggheads had been waiting for, to see if the years of research had really paid off but he was not happy to know that the test would be conducted on the mother of two girls who weren't even in their teens yet. "I still think we should choose a lesser target. Build him up rather than send him straight into the meat grinder." Achilles had been chosen to be the handler for this test, considering that Aeternus 9 was trained and educated by Achilles himself. He had been up for the idea to begin with, but when he had seen the target he was quickly regretting the order.

"Look, don't complain to me because I didn't give the order. Besides, I'm sure they really won't give a shit if you do complain to begin with."

"You're probably right. Achilles out" He cut the link, the optics over his eyes retracting so he could see the diclonius with his natural vision. It was up to number 9 to choose his moment to strike and how he'd carry out the attack. Achilles was only here to watch, assess, and bail out 9's ass if he screwed up to bad. Of course, bailing out number 9 also meant cleaning up any loose ends he left behind. Achilles let the optics slide back over his eyes as he watched the woman turn around a corner and start down the street. He said a small prayer for her safety, and a prayer for his own sins as he watched her go.

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><p><strong>A.N.: As always I greatly appreciate criticism because it only helps me as an author. I would also like to thank Lunar for the help in proofreading this as without help from Lunar, I would have posted this with a rather noticeable mistake that probably would have bugged a lot of fans of the Elfen Lied series. So thank you Lunar for your help and thank you readers for your thoughts and opinions.<strong>

** This is an extra blip I'm adding to mention that those who have previously read this chapter will notice a change to the ending. I did that because I've decided to change things up with the story and it was necessary to revise this particular chapter. These changes to the story may also mean I'll eventually have to change up the prologue as well, but I'll have to see about that as we go along. I do hope you still enjoy this though!**


	3. Chapter 2

**A.N. : This is being put up here for readers who have been following this since before I posted this update, as if you have jumped straight to this chapter things may seem a little odd. That is because I have decided to combine my original idea with a new one, therefore I have had to revise the ending scene of chapter 1 which I suggest you quickly read to understand what the hell is being talked about in this chapter. With that said, I want to thank Lunar once more for being a beta for this story and helping me to clear up and better organize information. Am always looking forward to your thoughts and opinions of my story, as well as any constructive criticism. Thank you and enjoy. **

* * *

><p>Kaede's trip to the bus stop was quiet and uneventful, which she was more than thankful for. She felt uneasy the whole time though however. She couldn't help but glance around occasionally, though every time she did she only saw other commuters going about their business. She couldn't see anything unusual, which actually further unnerved her considering the encounter she had with the ex-soldier earlier. There was nobody as the bus stop as she arrived there, which meant that she had the bench all to herself. She was happy that is had an overhang, as it had started to rain and the bus wouldn't be arriving for a few more minutes. Looking around again, she decided to try and call Kanae to check up on the girls, mostly as a way to get her mind off any bad scenarios she could conjure up.<p>

Pulling out her cellphone, she dialed up her sister-in-law's home, leaning back some as the phone rang a couple times. She smiled when she heard Kanae's voice come over the line, "Hello, Kanae here, so who's calling?"

"You sound so professional Kanae, is that usually how you answer your phone?" Kaede said.

"It is when I have to stop Yuki from strangling Nyu after being on the receiving end of a tickle attack!" Kaede couldn't help but giggle at the thought. Yuki was unfortunate to have been born ticklish, and she was very sensitive. The poor girl could be reduced to tears quite quickly if she was trapped and one could even try to asphyxiate her with how hard she'd laugh. Of course, Nyu did not suffer from such a weakness, and that devious little girl happily exploited the vulnerability. Yuki always had to be weary for either a hug-bush and/or surprise tickle attacks.

"Well, you've got me there. They haven't been giving you too much trouble today have they? I hope you didn't hurt my girls."

"Bah, they are fine Kaede and they've been behaving. No injuries, least nothing beyond a bruise here and there. Though I swear the way Nyu acted when I gave them dinner, I'd think she might have a problem with my cooking!"

"Obasan does not know how to cook!" Kaede smiled as she heard Nyu shout in the background.

"Oh hush, you little fart!" Kanae responded. "Just cause your mother is on the phone doesn't mean I w-" the next thing Kaede heard was a thud, followed by a grunt from Kanae. Kaede blinked and looked at the phone before putting it back to her ear.

"Hell-"

"Okaasan~!" Kaede jerked her head away from the phone, wishing she didn't have the volume set so high. She swore under her breath as she rubbed the assaulted ear, switching the phone to her other ear.

"Hiya Nyu, glad to hear you as well..!" Kaede looked up to see the bus pulling up, which she then stood up and gathered her things.

"Okaasan! I wish you could have seen me trip Yuki today! I got her perfectly!"

It was Yuki's turn to shout something in the background. "You cheated! You tickled me then threw me!" Kaede smiled as she boarded and paid the toll before heading towards the back of the bus. There were a far less number of people riding, and the soldier she met beforehand wasn't riding along. She took her seat three rows from the back and moved next to the window, watching the raindrops break as they hit the ground.

"Nuh-uh! That isn't cheating at all!" Nyu responded to her sister. "It is your fault for not protecting yourself!"

"I'll get you back! You just wait!" Kaede shook her head as she looked towards the front of the bus.

"Well, I'll be there soon Nyu, your father is going to be another hour or two so I'll just stay there with you all, ok?"

"Ok! You want to talk to obasan again?" Kaede could almost feel Nyu's tremors of excitement through the phone.

"Yes please, and don't go hurting your sister or vice-versa, got it?"

"I'll try not to! Love you, bye!" Kaede then heard the phone drop to the floor, followed by the sound of someone running off. She shook her head, knowing Nyu had just decided to discard the phone rather than actually hand it over to Kanae.

"I never want to see her on a sugar high…" Kanae said as she picked up the phone.

"Kohta and I have seen it once, oddly enough it seems to calm her down rather than excite her."

"You are the weirdest family I've ever seen, you know that Kaede?"

Kaede grinned, leaning back in her seat. "Doesn't it make you feel proud to be a part of it?"

Kanae chuckled, "If that's the word you want to use! So you are going to be stopping by you said?"

"Mhm, Kohta will be a couple hours more or so. I figured that if he's going to be busy then I'll stay and visit, if you don't mind that is."

"Course not! If I am willing to put up with the little demons you call your "girls" for a day, then I think I can find a way to enjoy having you over as well. I hope you are ok with Mori joining us because he's getting off of work as well."

"Long as you two behave yourselves and remember there are kids around." Kaede said with a smile.

"Oh, you are one to talk! You hush your mouth Kaede, I've heard about your little adventures!" Kaede's smile vanished as she blushed some.

"I…I don't know what you are talking about!" Kaede blushed more when she heard Kanae laugh.

"Oh, of course you don't Kaede, of course you don't!" Kanae's laugh simmered down, sighing in content before taking a breath. "Well, I'll see you soon then. You want us to meet you at the stop, give you an umbrella? This rain is picking up quite a bit."

"Unless Mori arrives in time to watch the girls or you send him then no, didn't expect the rain so they don't have any coats as far as I'm aware."

"Alright, if Mori shows up then I'll have him meet you down at the stop. Just call me before you get there, sound good?"

"It does, thank you Kanae, see you soon."

"Yep, yep, bye by-"

"BYE OKAASAN~!" Kaede jerked her head back form the phone as Nyu decided to scream as loud as she could. One of the passengers gave Kaede a funny look, Kaede giving the person a nervous grin before putting phone back to her ear.

"Bye bye, Nyu…ow…"

Kanae spoke up again after recovering, "Geez….see you soon, Kaede."

"Bye." With that she hung up the phone and put it away, rubbing her ear. "Cripes she is loud…" She watched out the window, relaxing and enjoying the ride. She had a good half-hour ride still before they would reach her stop. It was these moments where she wished she had brought a book to read, or a Gameboy. She was left to get lost in her thoughts as she stared out at the window, watching passing cars or someone walking. It wasn't until the bus caught a bump hat she was jarred out of her thoughts. She looked around some, noticing nothing had changed passenger wise. She glanced at her phone, checking the time. Fifteen minutes had passed since she had stopped talking with Kanae. Sighing in boredom, she looked back out the window setting her phone down. She hoped Mori was going to show up, as Kaede wasn't really looking forward to walking in the rain. She too hadn't brought a coat or anything to shield herself from the rain and she'd rather not show up at Kanae's drenched to the bone. Of course, she could always try and use her vectors to shield herself.

Her attention was drawn to the roof as there was a sudden and loud sound of something falling onto it. She raised an eyebrow, and it was loud enough to draw the attention of the other passengers. Even the driver glanced back through the rear-view mirror. She watched the ceiling, listening to what sounded like footsteps travelling along the top. The sound stopped for a moment, everyone watching where it had stopped. She visibly jumped when something impacted the roof of the bus hard, creating a small circular dent. Then she saw the dent become a hole as a human fist broke its way through the ceiling. The hand then grabbed the inside edge of the ceiling, and all the passengers watched as the hand began tearing it back. She could then see the silhouette of a man standing there and rending apart the roof, which he jumped through and down into the center aisle when he had made a hole big enough for him. Everyone was staring, all of them somewhat shocked and stunned that a man had just entered the bus from the roof, not to mention by ripping a gaping hole in it. The person in question was a large man, looking to be almost about seven feet tall. He was wearing a black long sleeved shirt with a military vest, which held a radio, a small knife sheathed at his shoulder and what Kaede recognized as epipens, but each one being larger than any she had ever seen before. His hands were bare and he had matching black pants on with heavy black boots as well. His hair was cut very short and was as black as his outfit. The man was drenched from being in the heavy rain, which with his wet clothes sticking to him Kaede could clearly see that he had thick and powerful muscles on him.

The driver looked back at the man, then back ahead trying to figure out what to do. He only managed a simple question as he glanced back once more, "Who the hell are you?! What are you doing?!"

Turning to the driver, the man spoke. "Relax and keep your eyes on the road! It'd be a shame to see you hydroplane and take us careening into oncoming traffic. Tsk, tsk, here you are getting safety tips from a passenger!" He then turned around, looking towards the back of the bus before his eyes quickly settled on Kaede, a smile forming on his face. "Ah! That was easy! I'm glad I found you!" He placed a hand on one of the seats next to him, leaning on it as he continued talking. "I must say it is a pleasure to meet you Kaede; I do apologize, I was only given your first name. You may call me Jeremiah Fettle, and I am here to kill you!" Kaede eyes widened, though before she could move Jeremiah effortlessly tore one the seat he was leaning on from the floor and threw it right at her. Kaede was quick enough to catch the chair with her vectors and sent it right back at him. She hadn't expected someone as big as him to move so fast, nor for a person to easily deflect the thrown chair to the side, so she didn't see his punch coming till it hit her across the jaw.

She was knocked out of her chair and into the aisle by the punch, smacking her head onto the ground hard as she fell. She was too dazed to focus her vectors on him specifically, so not willing to risk hurting the other passengers, she was forced to take a hard stomp on her side from him. She couldn't help by shout in pain as he followed it with a kick to her stomach, Kaede curling into a ball to try and shield herself from the assault to try and give herself time to focus enough to hit him back. Then a hand grabbed the front of her shirt and lifted her right off the ground, Kaede getting one look at Jeremiah's face before taking another punch and knocking her back to the floor. This was her chance to attack back though, as even though everything was still a blur after taking several hits from him, he still stood out enough that she could accurately target him.

Throwing all four vectors into him, she slammed him right in the chest and sent him flying down the center of the bus. The driver had managed to pull the bus over and was trying to get ahold of the police over the radio, and he jumped away from Jeremiah as he smashed into the front dashboard of the bus. He broke the deposit box, as well as part of the windshield before he fell to the floor with a heavy thud. Kaede was getting back to her feet, holding her head and grimacing while watching as her attacker laughed and got back onto his feet, cracking his knuckles followed by his neck. He raised his hands, beckoning her towards him with both hands. "Come on. Come on now, we've only just started!" He then squared his stance some and curled his hands into fists, raising them up past his chin slightly. "I'm hoping you aren't already gassed!" Kaede lowered her hand from her head and taking her own stance, she flared out her vectors. He sprinted right at her suddenly, this time though he had nothing to distract her. Kaede grinned some, almost sadistically, before she launched her vectors out at him. There was no chance to dodge her attack, and all four smashed into him again and launched him back down the center of the bus. This time the dashboard didn't catch him, rather he smashed through the windshield and out the bus. She couldn't see where Jeremiah had landed, so she carefully began approaching the front of the bus and watching around for him.

She saw him getting back up onto his feet, flexing his back some after having landed on the back of a car that was parked in front of where the bus had stopped. She stared at him, astonished at how he was taking the hits like they were from some preschooler. The car he had landed on had its back window shattered with part of the trunk and roof dented from where he had landed. She didn't let it deter her though, so she quickly ran towards the window she had smashed with Jeremiah and hopped out to meet him. As she landed, she looked up in time to catch a car door Jeremiah had thrown, more than likely from the car he had landed on. Again it was simple enough for her to catch it, and she remembered how he used it more as a feint than as an actual attack method. So when she cast the door aside, she hadn't expected to be pegged between the eyes by a rock he had decided to throw instead. The bad lighting and size of the rock didn't help her to see it either. Drawing in a sharp breath, she brought up a hand and grabbed hold of where she had been hit. It was all the opening Jeremiah desired before he rammed into Kaede, lifting her up onto his shoulder some before smashing her up against the bus, squishing her between himself and the grill.

Stepping back and allowing Kaede to fall forwards into him, he wrapped one arm around the back of her head and pulled her into an uppercut which hit her just below the center of her rib cage. He pushed her head up and back and punched her across the jaw, causing Kaede to stumble back into the bus. Kaede managed to duck under another punch of his that dented the grill of the bus before she spun around and fired off her vectors at him, catching him this time across the face with a heavy hit. The vector hit threw his head into the bus, denting the grill even more where his head hit. Stumbling back, he shook his head and looked right at her, but this time she took no chances with him. She lashed out with the vectors, and in one clean swipe, severed both his arms cleanly at the elbows. She followed this up with another hit right to his chest with enough of an impact to leave a gaping hole clean through his torso. He stumbled back some, blinking and looking down at himself before at her. She had seen such shock before in the eyes of people that had been on the receiving end of a negative vector encounter; however she hadn't expected to see him smile. He couldn't exactly laugh as she had destroyed any path the air could take to his mouth, but from the way he moved she could see that he would have had it been possible. She stared at him, surprised before scowling and hitting him with one last hit which threw him across the street and into a wall on the other side, where he fell into a puddle with a heavy thud and splash.

She watched him for a moment before finally collapsing, holding her stomach where she had hit him. She hated hits to the solar plexus, considering how bad they hurt. She leaned against the ruined bus, holding her stomach and watching the blood from her head wounds mix with the rain water. She could hear sirens approaching and could even see the flashing lights from them as well. She lifted her head up, watching a police car skid to a stop nearby before the officers stepped out and quickly made their way over to her and the other passengers. One of the officers went to check on the passengers while another knelt down next to her, checking over her wounds quickly before looking at her. "We've radioed for an ambulance already, so just hold on tight."

"Thank you, but that won't be necessary..." She managed to say, undecided as to what pain she should hold first. Once she was able to focus enough, she closed her eyes and began scoping her body to locate her injuries. She started with the several cuts on her head, directing her vectors to the wounds and slowly beginning the mending process. As she went about healing them, she was able to detect even some small hairline fractures in her skull, which didn't surprise her some considering the man had punches that felt like jackhammers. She was relieved to know that he hadn't managed any depressive fractures; though having a cracked jaw was annoying.

By the time she had finished healing herself up, she had tallied up several lacerations, the fractures on her skull and jaw, and a few broken ribs. She was damn happy that she had managed to discover the healing capabilities of her vectors, because it meant she wasn't going to have to sit around in a hospital or on her butt doing nothing for several days. She looked up and around, watching an ambulance pull up as some paramedics hopped out, quickly making their way towards some of the passengers. More police officers had shown up, and the officer that had been checking on her had gone off to check on the others. She glanced over to where she had thrown Jeremiah, and was not happy to see that his body was now gone. She looked around to see if the police had recovered or moved the body, but all emergency personnel were busy with the passengers and driver. In hindsight, she wished she had remembered to try and shield herself with her vectors when he had begun his assault. "Getting rusty at this fighting deal…guess it's a good sign. Well sort of is. Least it means I've had a relatively quiet life" She said to herself. Maybe she could start joining the girls in their practice with Kanae.

She closed her eyes, sighing and resting her head back against the bus. She shivered as she finally began to take notice of just how cold and wet she was which she had failed to notice before considering how beat up she had been. "I hope Kanae has some clothes that'll fit me…"

* * *

><p>Achilles was watching Kaede from his position atop a new building, leaning on its edge as his optics zoomed in on her. He zoomed back out to get a better look at the buzz of activity as more police and paramedics arrived. He had actually sighed in relief when he had seen Kaede had come out alive; it was one less thing he had to have on his conscious. "Achilles, report in."<p>

Muse again, "Field test has been finished, went pretty well considering he got his ass whooped in the end. The Myrmidons have also successfully recovered Jeremiah."

"Need to be more specific than that, Achilles; you were sent collect data as well as to keep track of him."

Achilles rolled his eyes, still watching the activity below. "Relax, I'll give you the full report when I return you bloody moron. I'll tell you now that Jeremiah handled the fight well, but he was overconfident and thusly he lost for it."

"Alright then, get to the extraction point soon or else you are going to have to find your own ride back." Achilles knew that was a lie, as he was to important an agent to be simply left behind like that. It made him happy though, as it meant he got to toy around with the higher up when he needed too. Nothing was as fun as pissing off pompous, rich assholes without worry of consequences. Hell, he couldn't help but smile at the thought.

"Right, on my way then. Achilles out." He looked back at the scene one more time, watching Kaede stand up and converse with what looked like a paramedic. "May God watch over you and your family." He said before turning and making his way away from the scene.


	4. Chapter 3

Kaede sat in Kanae's living room, sitting back in a chair while Kanae and her boyfriend Mori sat on the couch across from her. It'd had been a few hours since her fight with Jeremiah, and a couple of those hours had been spent talking with the police over the matter; despite the fact that she was far more concerned with getting back to her children to make sure they were alright. Fortunately they had been, and they didn't even know that anything had happened until Kaede had called to check up on them. It didn't take long for the media though to jump on the incident, but Kaede didn't really care to listen to the news report considering she already knew the damn story; having had to retell it to both Kanae and the police. Truthfully, she just wanted to lie down, snuggle with her husband, and get some sleep. Speaking of her husband, she was glad he was in a hospital when she told him she had been attacked because she swore he was about to have a heart attack with how he sounded; she couldn't get him to stop asking if she was alright, or if she was injured and how badly. She tried to sound nice when reminding him that it was she who had the miracle super-cure to wounds.

She was glad though to at least know he was concerned, and even happier to know he was already on his way over to Kanae's. When she had last called him, he had said he was getting a ride with Morioka, considering the bus that drove the route he needed was rather beat up and out of commission. She looked at Nyu as her daughter climbed up onto her lap, Kaede smiling softly and putting an arm around the young girl. Nyu happily laid her head against her mother, yawning and closing her eyes.

"Somebody looks tired." Kanae said as she looked at Nyu snuggling up against her mother. "Can't imagine why though with how much running you and Yuki were doing."

Mori looked at Kanae, smiling some. "Can you blame them? With cooking like yours I want to run as well." He chuckled softly when Kanae gave him a playful swat on the chest.

"Nobody says you have to eat it you jerk!" she said, though she too had a smirk.

"Because you'll catch us anyways if we try."

Kanae gave him a little shove before looking at Kaede and Nyu. Neither of the girls had been told yet about the attack on Kaede, as she would have rather they find out when their father was also around. So currently Yuki was sitting on the floor nearby, lost in one of her books. Kaede wished she could get the girls home, but she was not comfortable walking through the streets at the moment and she did not want to risk her children getting caught up in a fight themselves. If they ran into anybody like Jeremiah again, her kids would be defenseless against them. Sure they were receiving training from Kanae, plus they too did have the use of their vectors; however, neither of them knew what it was like to be in a fight where winning and losing meant a lot more than just a bruised ego. She knew that in a fight with a man like him, they would not stand a chance against the assault and she wasn't sure how well she could protect them both while having to defeat the attacker herself. So, while her sister-in-law's apartment was far from a military bunker in regards to its impenetrability, it was a lot safer than roaming the streets in the dark.

Groaning, she put a hand to her head which was still pounding. Kanae had offered some medication to kill the pain, but it only did so much. She was just glad that Nyu was sleepy because it meant she wasn't going to be on the receiving end of a sonic assault, and in her vulnerable state Kaede wasn't sure how well she could weather such a devastating attack.

There was a knocking on the door, followed by it being quickly opened as Kohta stepped into the room. He looked back outside and waved to Morioka who drove off before shutting the door and discarding his shoes. After doing so, he quickly made his way over to where his wife was and knelt down by her. "Kaede-chan! Are you alright?!"

Kaede groaned and slapped a hand over his mouth while rubbing her head. "Not so loud please…I'm ok beyond a splitting headache."

Kohta nodded as she removed her hand, looking at Nyu who looked back at her father with a sleepy smile. Smiling, he accepted the hug she offered, rubbing her back as he did so. "It's good to see you too, Nyu." He then looked over at Yuki who had finally noticed Kohta's arrival. Yuki smiled and hugged her father with a little more force than her groggy twin had managed. Mori had gotten up to grab Kohta a chair so he could sit somewhere rather than just on the floor. He thanked the man before pulling the chair up next to Kaede's and sitting down, pulling Yuki onto his lap as he did so. He then looked at his sister as Mori sat back down next to her. "How are you two? Also thank you for watching the girls Kanae."

She waved off the gratitude, smiling though as she leaned against her boyfriend, "You know it's not a problem Kohta, so stop thanking me every day would you?" As she had grown older, Kanae how dropped some of her younger habits, such as referring to her brother as oniisan and even Kaede as oneesan. Though she occasionally slipped into using them, something that was quite rare of her to do, she had grown out of it with time.

Kohta shook his head, chuckling softly as he did so, "No can do, you should know this by now."

"You have me there, but I'm ok. It wasn't any louder than it usually is when dealing with your girls, no trouble and no injuries either."

"That's good," Kohta then looked at Mori. "How about you Mori, was everything alright?" Kanae had first met Mori at a gym three years ago, where the two of them quickly hit it off. Like his sister, Mori enjoyed martial arts and exercising. Kohta always thought it was amusing when he thought about how the man worked as a bank teller, but he seemed to enjoy it and it paid well enough. Kohta's brotherly instincts had kicked in when he first found out his sister was dating Mori, as Kohta was always hunting for a fault he could find with the man. Of course, it did him little good as he quickly realized there wasn't much he could do about it considering both Kanae and Mori could beat him bad in a fight. He had thought he'd have Kaede to back him up, but considering she liked Mori and thought he was a good match for Kanae; Kohta would have been alone in the battle. So he was forced to relent and accept the fact they were dating, which he didn't regret as he could clearly see how happy the two were together. He was somewhat surprised at how quickly they had decided to move in together, but they were managing so he didn't fret over it very much. Interesting thing about Mori was that, Kohta had no real idea what the man thought about Kaede being a diclonius or about diclonii in general. Mori almost never spoke of the subject, hell Kohta had never even heard Mori bring up Kaede's or the girls' race. Whenever it was brought up in conversation, Mori either tried to change it, or if he couldn't, he'd remove himself from the conversation. Even Kanae didn't know as Mori would still react in such a way to her. Oddly enough though, he never tried to avoid conversing with a diclonius, including Kaede. He would even play or practice with girls without a hint of anger or annoyance; it was something that really bewildered the family.

Mori nodded, rubbing Kanae's back as he looked at Kohta. "Yeah, same stuff, different day."

"That's good," Kohta then turned to Kaede, "Now can you please tell me what happened?" He listened as his wife told the story, Yuki now staring at her mother in awe as she listened. Nyu too had perked up, which Kaede regretted as it took a few moments for her to quiet Nyu down and get her to relax. Finishing the story, Yuki was the first one to speak.

"So you beat him good right?! If not then I'll have to hunt him down and hurt him for attacking you, mom!"

"Yeah!" piped up Nyu, "Nobody messes with okaasan and gets away with it!" She had a "fierce" look on her face, though everybody just thought it was adorable when Nyu tried to look angry or intimidating. Such expressions weren't something she had picked up very well, as the girl was too happy-go-lucky to ever really learn how to express anger.

Kaede shook her head and looked at her daughters. "It's ok you two, I took care of him. So don't worry about it, alright?" Nyu pouted, but nodded anyways. Yuki, unlike her sister, was far more capable at expressing her dislike of something, so Kaede could easily tell her daughter wasn't happy about the idea. Kaede sighed as she looked at her, "Please Yuki, I know you are just as worried as the rest of us, but the man is dead. Alright?" Yuki huffed and crossed her arms, Kaede shaking head her knowing it was the best she was going to get out of her.

"So, who did the guy work for? Any ideas?" Kanae asked as she sat back up off of Mori.

"Do you think it was the people from that facility again?" Kohta added next. Kaede understood the concern in his voice, as the couple was very aware of just how much trouble Director Kakuzawa and his men had been capable of causing. After all, they had been a thorn in the side of Kaede and several of her friends for a long while of their life.

"I…" Kaede paused before looking at her husband. "I don't think so. Unless that director of the facility had others working for him. I honestly think that whole operation of his was shut down once he was taken out of the picture." After Lucy had finished him off and most of his work, Kaede and Kohta had heard nor seen hide or hair of anybody connected to Kakuzawa's team. "I really don't think the man who attacked me was a part of that facility. He wasn't set on capturing me, in fact it seemed like he had every intention of killing me." Though Kaede dreaded the idea that now there were people hunting her once more, which meant not only was she in danger but so was her family, though Nyu's hug made it hard for her to feel too upset. She hugged her daughter back, smiling somewhat as she did so.

"Not exactly better news." said Kohta before sighing, "And here I was hoping things would stay quiet and peaceful."

"Don't get so doom and gloom so quickly Kohta," said his sister as she glared at him. "Yes it stinks that somebody attacked Kaede, but do you have to jump to the conclusion that we've got a bunch of maniacs after her?"

Kohta looked at her, a scowl forming as he did so. "Kanae, you weren't with us during that time. And…" He looked at Yuki in his lap, hesitant to continue the conversation while in the presence of his children. He just wasn't sure if they were mature enough to understand what was happening, and he glanced at his wife as he tried to figure it out.

Kaede looked back at him, then at Nyu who was still hugging her mother before nodding and looking back at Kohta. Yuki though, recognized the look and was quick to pipe up, "Nuh-uh! You're not sending me away!"

At that comment, Nyu pulled back from Kaede and looked at her. "Yeah! What oneesan said!"

Kohta sighed, looking at his daughter in his lap. "This just isn't something your mother and I think you need to hear, at least not till you are older."

"Maybe it is time for them to learn, besides it's not like you two are going to propagate anti-human sentiments in the two." Kanae said. Kohta looked at his sister, before back at his wife.

"Well, what do you think?" he asked

Kaede looked at Nyu's "fierce" expression once more, smiling and ruffling her daughter's hair up before looking at her other daughter: "Alright, you two can stay." Nyu was right back to smiling, Yuki grinning triumphantly.

Kohta looked back at Kanae as he got back on track with the conversation. "Anyways, Kanae, you don't know how persistent or extreme they got. They may have taken breaks, but they certainly didn't stop trying."

"True, but they were always intending to capture me, not kill me." Kaede said, "This man, Jeremiah, he was not looking to take me in alive; it was pretty clear what he was intending." Nyu's smile was gone again, this time replaced with sad expression as she looked up at her mother.

"But, why would someone want to kill you? You are such a nice person!" Kaede looked back at Nyu and rubbed her head.

"Not everyone in the world likes what we are and are capable of, Nyu. There are many people out there in the world that are very afraid of us diclonius."

"Well then why not get them back?!" Yuki piped up while scowling. "If they are going to try and hurt us I say we get them all right back!"

Kohta turned his daughter to look at him, returning her scowl. "Yuki, that doesn't solve the problem. If your mother, you, or your sister just went around hurting everyone who didn't like you just because you are a diclonius then that only makes the problem that much worse."

"How?! If we take out the bad ones, then only the good ones remain and everybody is happy!" Yuki crossed her arms while glaring at her father.

"It just isn't that simple. I wish it were dear, but I'm sorry. It just isn't as easy as that."

"Yuki, Nyu." Kaede spoke, both girls looking at her. "You both will come to understand what we are talking about when you are older, I promise you. It isn't something that either your father or I can easily explain. In time though, you will understand what we mean."

"That's just wonderful..." Yuki said.

"In fact, I want you girls to promise me something right now." Nyu cocked her head to the side, Yuki looking at Kaede as well.

"What is it okaasan?" asked Nyu.

"I want you girls to promise me that you won't ever try to hurt another person unless it's only to protect yourselves, your friends, or family. Don't go seeking fights, because it'll only makes things worse for you two in the end. Can you promise me this, please?"

Yuki was not very happy about the idea. "But mom-"

Kaede cut her off, "I understand that it means you may have to take some lip from those around you, Yuki. Trust me, I've dealt with it enough to know how bad it can get, but the problem will only get worse if you just go around beating up every single one." Kaede couldn't help but think back to her previous life that she had been shown so many years ago. All the blood she had spilt, all the lives she had taken, and all the destruction she had caused. All done out of anger, fear, and sadness. She remembered how lonely and terrible it was, how horrid it was to only desire someone's love and affection, but to never receive it. She looked at Kanae as she thought about it, how she had killed the woman sitting right across form her and how she had so badly hurt the man she loved so much. Looking back at Yuki and Nyu, she knew it was not a path she'd ever want to see her daughters follow and to be lost on.

Nyu was less resistant to the idea than her sister was, but of course she was far friendlier than Yuki. "Ok! I promise! If they try to hurt me then I'll give them a good ol' whoopin'!" In her excitement Nyu had decided to punch her fist into the air, unfortunately she was not exactly paying attention to where the fist was going. Kaede took the girl's "punch" on the bottom of her chin, causing her to jerk her head back, grabbing the area where she was punched and flexing her jaw. Nyu brought her hand back down then gasped looking at Kaede. "I'm sorry okaasan! I didn't mean to, please don't get mad! I wasn't breaking my promise I swear!"

Kanae had her face buried in Mori's shoulder, trying to hide her laugh, something even Kohta and Yuki were having difficulty doing. Kaede flexed her jaw some while patting Nyu's head. "It's fine dear….ow…it's fine! I know you didn't mean it." Nyu sunk down some, partly embarrassed and guilty for doing so.

"Ok…I'm still sorry." She said.

Kaede gave the rest of her family a mild glare before giving Nyu a smile. "I know you are it's ok Nyu."

Kanae sat up, having recovered from her little laughing fit. "So, what's the plan then?" Both parents looked at her, "Obviously you and Kohta are going to have to work, but be more cautious. But what about the girls?"

Kaede looked at Kohta, then at the girls. "I'm not sure…I don't want to take them out of school, but…"

"Look, if need be I can stick with the girls for a while, just as some added protection, you know?" said Kanae. Kohta was about to protest but she stopped him before he could say anything. "No, Kohta; they are my nieces and I am just as concerned for their wellbeing as you two are. So I insist on helping keep watch on them, ok?"

"Fine." Kohta said. "Though, I think it's best we inform the police about this Kaede-chan." He looked at his wife. "Granted, they are probably already getting involved considering the mess the guy made, but it doesn't hurt."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Said Kaede as she let out a sigh and leaned her head back against the chair while closing her eyes.

Kanae watched the diclonius, "Why don't you stay here for tonight. I mean I don't have much room obviously, but we can work something out, ok?"

Kaede opened her eyes, looking at Kanae. Her protest was cut short by Nyu's excited gasp, "Yeah! Sleepover at obasan's!" The smile turned to a pout though, "But okaasan needs to cook breakfast." Kohta again couldn't stop from cracking up, neither could Mori.

"I'm with her on that idea! Let Kaede cook breakfast!" said Mori, who was shoved over while laughing by his girlfriend.

"You all are jerks!" Kanae huffed while standing up and walking out of the living room. "You are sleeping on the floor tonight, Mori!" She said as she left the room.

Mori was grinning. "It was completely worth it."

Later that night, Kaede and Kohta were lying on the floor of the living room, snuggled together as the twins were now asleep on the couch. Kaede was lost in thought as she stared at a nearby wall, her head resting on Kohta. Kohta looked down at her, wrapping an arm around her and rubbing her shoulder. "What's on your mind?" he asked in a hushed tone so as not to disturb their daughters.

"I'm worried is what," Kaede responded back in the same tone. "This is exactly what I was hoping to avoid putting our girls through."

Kohta watched is wife, carefully moving some hair from her face so he could see her better, Kaede looking up at him as he did so. "It'll be ok, Kaede-chan. I know it won't be easy but we made it through things like this before. Not to mention that the world, or at least Japan, is far more aware of such discrimination towards diclonii and there are many out there who will help to protect us. The tension may not be completely gone but things are not the same as they were before when we had to face that director and his goons."

Kaede watched Kohta for a moment before looking back off at the wall. "I know, Kohta, I know that's the case. But that man…" She paused, feeling herself tighten her hold on her husband some, "He was not some random terrorist or mercenary. He took a full hit from my vectors multiple times and stood right back up, he tore a seat from the bus floor with one hand and even ripped a car door off. He wasn't a normal human, Kohta. He belonged to something worse than just a bunch of bigots."

Kohta watched her before turning her head to look at him again. "We'll get through this Kaede-chan, I know we will." He leaned down, kissing her which she happily returned.

* * *

><p>"Have you ever visited Japan before, Cromwell?"<p>

"Couple times, mostly vacation."

"And the times it wasn't for vacation?"

"I'm amazed you need to ask such a question, Hooker." Cromwell looked off and around at the buildings around them, hands in his pockets as he walked alongside his partner, Hooker, next to him.

"Touché, was this before the Taskforce?" Hooker asked as he too watched the surroundings.

"Before it became a joint effort, it was here in Japan I learned a man doesn't need all his teeth to talk properly."

"How lovely, now let's go over things one more time so we don't look like idiots when we get to her house. She's hardly trusting of types like us, not to mention we've travelled quite a ways just to see her."

"What? Are we that bad of people?" Cromwell asked, looking at the man walking next to him. Hooker shrugged, not really sure if his partner was being sarcastic or not.

"You might be, now focus. Ok, three days ago a diclonius was assaulted on a public bus. The assaulted is a woman by the name of Kaede…" Hooker stopped talking for a moment. "Um…."

"Forgot her last name didn't you?" Cromwell said looking at the man.

"Ah shut it, like you remembered it either you arse." Cromwell looked back ahead as Hooker decided to continue. "Anyways, she's a mother of two, works in a hospital, and apparently made an enemy of a super human."

"Least it means we are making something of progress, if a man was ripping the roof of a bus just to fuck her up then I'm going to assume we aren't following a random asshat with a stick up his ass about diclonius."

"She was linked with the research facility and its staff, well 'linked' in that they wanted her quite badly."

Cromwell had lit up a cigarette during Hooker's little talk, taking a quick drag of it before taking a turn to speak. "So she's an important case amongst diclonii, ok. You are basically just providing more proof that this isn't just some member of a lynch mob who got really hyped up on something and decided to bash in a random diclonius?"

"Pretty much, just want to make sure you know what is going on."

"Bite me; how far are we from her home? Are we even sure she is going to be home?" Cromwell asked, looking at the man walking next to him.

"We do not know for sure, but might as well stop on by and if nobody is home then we come back later. Though to answer your first question, the house is only a couple more blocks."

"Alright, the next step then is to figure out how the hell we are going to approach her about this." Cromwell looked back ahead, blowing out a puff of smoke.

Hooker considered the question; he had already bounced the idea around his head, but he was simply thinking it over once more. "This is going to sound counterintuitive, but I think coming clean with her is the best option." He expected to get the puzzled look from Cromwell. He simply looked back him and shrugged, "Look, she's just been attacked by a man who ripped the roof of a bus open and ripped the door off a car with his bare hands, she spent a good amount of time having to contend with a pseudo-military faction, and she has a family she is very concerned about protecting right now. If we tip-toe around the matter, Cromwell, then we are only persuading her even further to not work with us." The smoker nodded his head in understanding. "I'm as big a fan of the idea as you are, but if it means we can gain her trust then so be it."

"Well at least you are making sense."

"Aw, how nice of you. I think you might be getting soft on me." He chuckled as Cromwell simply flipped him the bird. "Remember agent, we are from different countries. You need two fingers to be offensive to me." He grinned as Cromwell flicked his cigarette at him. Hooker than looked ahead, noticing the simple and small home they were looking for. "There it is. I'll talk ok? You just keep your trap shut."

"Works for me then, I can't complain when you make the task easier for me." Cromwell responded. The two of them made their way to the front door, which Cromwell roughly rapped his knuckles on. Neither of them cared much if they woke up either of the homeowners, though considering it was around eight thirty in the morning they figured somebody would have been up by now. Sure enough there was as a man with tanned skin opened the door, looking at the two men standing there in front of him.

"Hello, there something I can help you with?" the man asked.

"Hello Kohta," Hooker ignored Cromwell's scoff. "My name is Thomas Hooker; my friend here is Martin Cromwell. We would like to speak with you and your wife, please." Kohta scowled as he looked at the two men, each of them appearing to be in their mid-twenties, both wearing simple clothes and jackets. Hooker seemed the friendliest of the two, as his posture was far more relaxed and not to mention the smile he had. He had short brown hair with hazel eyes. The other man, Cromwell, was clearly still on guard, as his posture was more rigid and tense. He too had his dirty blonde hair cut short, and his blue eyes were watching around the area. Kohta was quick to figure out that these weren't simple travelling salesmen or random visitors.

"Why do you need to see her?" Kohta asked. He and Kaede had been on edge these past couple days. They were both weary of another attack from the group that had sent Jeremiah, and these two men were not projecting an aura of friendship.

Hooker didn't drop the smile. "Please sir, it's really important that we need to speak with you and your wife."

"I'm sorry, but we are busy. I'll have to ask you to leave."

Cromwell turned and looked at Kohta, not donning a smile like his partner had. "Three days ago, your wife, a diclonius by the name of Kaede and mother of twin girls, was attacked by a super human. The man nearly killed her and was capable of incredible feats of strength, had considerable resilience and speed to match." Hooker dropped his smile and sighed, Kohta furrowing his brows.

"I think you need to leave, now." He said fiercely.

Hooker held up his hands, looking at Kohta. "Sir, please. My partner here can be about as subtle as a car-wreck at highway speeds at times. I know this looks bad, but we only know of this incident because we are after the group who sent that man to attack your wife." Kohta was watching Hooker, not sure what to think.

"Kohta, who is it?" Kaede asked as she walked up next to her husband, looking out at the two men. It didn't take long for her to sense the tension that was there between the three of them, so she too was on guard as she looked at them. "What do you two want?"

Kohta watched the two men before looking at Kaede, "They claim they are here in regards to the man who attacked you a couple days ago."

Cromwell didn't wait for Kaede to respond. "Look, can we please come inside and talk? We will explain everything but it'd be nice to do it in a more private setting."

"I'm not letting you inside until you explain yourselves." Kaede responded, eyeing them both carefully. She was glad the girls were off at school right now, as it meant she wouldn't have to be as cautious about them trying to greet the two strangers.

Cromwell looked at Hooker. "You can explain." he said.

Hooker glanced at his partner before looking at Kaede and Kohta. "Alright, I'll start with who we are exactly. I'm not going to tip-toe around this matter, so I'll tell you that my name is Thomas Hooker and I am a member of the United Kingdom's Intelligence Department. MI6 as most people know of it. This," he gestured to Cromwell. "Is Martin Cromwell of the American CIA. We belong to a joint taskforce that is currently investigating the attacks on diclonii that have been occurring worldwide." Kohta and Kaede looked at one another, not sure what to think before they looked back at the two agents.

"Wait, wait, wait. Why the hell are the United States and Britain going around looking into attacks?" Kaede asked. "They are not exactly uncommon."

"The ones we are looking into are." Cromwell said. "You are referring to nut-jobs running around with torch and pitchfork screaming to burn the diclonius. The goons we are after are more organized and quite proficient at making piecemeal of your race." Kaede watched the two men, taking in what they said. It's was true that Jeremiah had not been an ordinary person, she couldn't lie about that.

"Look, we can show you IDs to prove we are who we say we are." Hooker said while reaching into his coat pocket. He wasn't that concerned about having it out, as it hardly said much regarding what he really did. Hell it was really just a military license for him. Cromwell's showed he was a part of the CIA but it too didn't reveal much about their jobs. The couple looked at the two IDs the men had before they put them back away in their coats.

Kohta was still quite weary about it. "How do we know they aren't fake? How do we know you just aren't a part of the group that's apparently hunting my wife?"

"Sir, if we were a part of a secretive group out to kill you, don't you think we'd have chosen far more subtle disguises than being members of our countries respective intelligence agency; not to mention that even if we did choose such a radical disguise we'd have probably chosen a country that wasn't located thousands of miles away like Britain?"

Cromwell for once smiled as he spoke. "Not to mention that during this entire conversation your wife would be dead if we really wanted her to be?" Kohta scowled once more, looking at the man. "A myriad of options could have easily been chosen, but regardless she'd be dead right now if we really wanted her to be. You think I'm just being an ass right now, which I partly am, but consider the idea sir that if we wanted her dead we wouldn't be wasting our time having this long ass conversation." Kohta still wasn't happy, but Kaede sighed in defeat.

"Fine, you win." She looked at her husband who looked back at her, confused and angry at the idea still. "They are right, Kohta. If they wanted me dead, something would have happened by now." The men would have had to have been quite clever in their attack anyways, as during the entire conversation she had kept her vectors deployed around her and Kohta as a shield, which if things turned into a fight she could very easily use them for offensive purposes. She looked back at them. "Come in." She then hooked an arm with Kohta's, mostly to keep him close so she could keep her vectors tight around the two of them. She walked with her husband, who was still unhappy over the whole idea, towards their living room. The agents followed the couple into the living room, which was as simple as the rest of their home was, and sat down across from Kohta and Kaede. "Now, why did you need to come see us?" Kaede asked, keeping close to her husband still.

Hooker sat up, looking at them. "As I said, Cromwell and I are members of a joint taskforce created by the United Kingdom and the United States. For the past couple years, there has been a number of diclonii being murdered or vanishing with no apparent motive. Normally that is something we leave to the respective country's authorities to handle. However, there have been a number within our own countries that have been attacked, but most importantly it's the efficiency and lack of evidence that concerns us." He rested his arms on his knees as he leaned forwards. "These attacks all share the similarity of having military like precision. The victims had no idea what hit them, and little to no evidence is ever left behind. The only evidence we usually find are things such as foot prints or bullet casings, the casings not belonging to any standard civilian weapons nor the usual black market weapons. As I said they have been occurring internationally, small enough in numbers that the majority of people won't notice the trend or pay any heed to it. Britain and the US are not the only countries looking into this, we were sent though considering the US' overall military protection it offers Japan."

"And this is turning into a military matter because of how active and proficient the people you are trying to catch are, right?" Kohta asked.

"Yes, we are still working in conjunction with Japanese authorities, but Cromwell and I are members of a taskforce our countries have formed to deal with the threat. Currently the rest of the members are not here yet, but they are on their way as we speak. If you do agree to work with us, you will meet them so you can at least know who not to try and kill when shit hits the fan." Kaede and Kohta both picked up on what he was getting at, noting the fact that the members were going to show up regardless of their cooperation.

"What do you mean by 'work with you'?" Kaede asked, watching the two agents.

Hooker watched the couple, before rubbing his hands together. "To put it simple you two, and this is why I wasn't bothering to be subtle really, you and your family are going to be bait for these people."

Kaede didn't miss a beat, "Not. Happening. I will not let you use me or my family as pawns in your little hunt!"

Cromwell was just as quick to respond, "Then let me word it differently." Kaede glared at him as he too sat up. "You are going to be live bait whether you want to be or not because these people aren't going to give two shits regarding your willingness to help us and are going to come after you, and to do that I can guarantee your family is going to be used for that purpose. We are going to be watching you anyways and are going to try and get these guys when they come after you." Neither he nor Kaede faltered under the other's glare. "So it's really a matter of you choosing if you want us to actively help you and to work alongside you to make sure it goes as smoothly as possible for you and your kiddies, or if you just want to be a worm dangling on the end of a hook. The taskforce isn't very picky about either option." Kaede had her fists clenched tightly, wanting to punch the bastard across the face.

"You little…!" She couldn't think of a good word to say to describe him.

Hooker cleared his throat, glaring at Cromwell. "Think of an epithet for my friend at a later time, please." He then looked at Kaede and Kohta, who looked just as furious as his wife did. "Please, you two. I know Cromwell horribly worded it, but it comes from our jobs. We kill for a living and it can grind down the sympathetic cog quite a bit. Please listen." The couple turned to face the British man. "We understand your hesitancy, we know how much hell you've had to put up with in your life and that you only want to live a simple, peaceful life with your children. You need to understand that, even though we can seem like callous people, we only want to help you do so." He watched the two, not breaking eye contact with Kaede specifically. "Even if our motives are different we both want the same goal, and that is to stop these bloody bastards and their little genocidal crusade before it makes things worse. We want to see you and your family come out of this alive, and we are going to do everything we can to make it so. So please, you need to trust us when I say you won't be hanging out on an edge the whole time just waiting for them to have some target practice." The tension was still thick, the couple still not sure what to consider.

"How do we know you won't just leave us without help?" Kohta asked. "You claim a lot but you don't offer any guarantee you'll have our backs."

Hooker sighed some, mostly in relief that he had made some form of progress persuading them. "Cromwell and I would shadow you and your family, mostly your kids and husband as we believe you can handle yourself well enough on your own, ma'am." He said as he looked at Kaede. "I know it might seem rather awkward to have two foreign agents trailing you, but you'll never know we are there I promise you. Also, if you agree to this then we will take you to meet the other members of the taskforce when they arrive. It's mostly so you know who to look for and expect when things get bad, but also you can at the least get to know the men who will be providing backup for you."

Cromwell took a chance to pipe up, this time with a lot less hostility. "You can count on these soldiers to hold their own in a tough fight. Delta operatives from the United States and Special Air Service members from Britain, each one hand-picked and well experienced. They've seen plenty of fighting and have had to escort people out of nasty situations before, so they know damn well what they are doing. They won't be following you, just Hooker and I as he said, but they will always be on call and ready to move at a moment's notice."

Kaede had relaxed, still keeping close to her husband with vectors at the ready though. "What about me then? You mentioned you'd mostly be following my family, so what happens if they attack me?"

"You and your husband will both be given tracking devices, each equipped with an emergency beacon. You hit that switch and we'll be all over you faster than flies on shit." Cromwell said "We can give one to your children if you so desire, though one of us will always be following them. It is only you and your husband we'll have to switch between unless we can find another suitable field agent to assist us."

Kaede looked at Kohta, "What do you think?" she asked him.

He sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "I don't like it, but what else can we do?"

Hooker spoke again. "If you need any proof to confirm who we are beyond our IDs, then we can give you the necessary information to obtain that proof."

The couple looked at Hooker before back at each other. "Doesn't make me like it anymore, but it seems like they'll be following us regardless of our choice." Kohta said.

Kaede watched him, before looking down and sighing miserably. She then looked back up at him. "Then let us do it. I hate the idea as well, but it's better if we have them actively seeking to protect us rather than the alternative."

"Yeah, I know." Kohta said before looking at Hooker and Cromwell. "Fine, we'll do it. You best keep your end up."

Hooker smiled, nodding. "We will, we will." He then stood up, offering a hand to them. "Tomorrow we will come to you so that we can have you meet the other members, as well as to give you those beacons. During that time, if you choose not to bring your children along, we will have a group deployed to keep watch over them. I promise you, we will do everything we can to protect you all." Shaking hands with them, Cromwell did the same before the two men turned to leave.

Once outside, Hooker immediately sucker punched Cromwell right in the side, causing the American to swear loudly and buckle slightly. "The fuck you asshole?!" Cromwell exclaimed, looking at Hooker.

"You stupid wanker! This is why I told you to keep your bloody mouth shut!" Hooker then began walking down the street, Cromwell growling before following.

* * *

><p><strong>A.N: As always I'd like to thank Lunar for her assistance in proofreading, and I also thank you for reading my story and would greatly appreciate criticism. On another note though, and I feel odd putting this down, I would like to find a beta who is also familiar or speaks British dialect of English. As is probably obvious I live in the US, and I'm not very familiar with British slang, terms, or subtle differences between American and British style of English. I'll try to do my best to get it accurate, but I can only do so much, so if anybody knows of a beta that can assist me there or if any readers are capable of assisting me there I would greatly appreciate it. I'll certainly need the help as Hooker isn't going to be the only person who speaks British dialect (really hope I'm using that word right...). Just PM me if you are interested or know anybody who is, thank you. <strong>


	5. Chapter 4

The agents hadn't been lying when they said that Kaede and Kohta could meet with the taskforce the next day, as currently the two were already making their way towards the edge of town. Currently they were riding on a bus, which would drop them off at a stop where'd they meet the American, Cromwell. The couple had decided to not take their children along, so they were currently at school; according to what Cromwell had said, currently the British agent Hooker was shadowing them alongside another group of operatives. Even if they stated that they intended to assist the family, Kaede was still quite unhappy over the situation.

She had now spent two lives fighting military organizations and she was not happy about one following her so intently. She knew she was being somewhat unfair passing judgment so quickly without actually meeting the individuals or who was involved, she just had a hard time doing so considering her past relationships with military types. She looked at her husband sitting next to her, who was just watching out the front window of the bus as they went along. He was just as excited about the idea as she was, but they really didn't have much a choice if they wanted to be sure of their children's safety.

She smiled some as she felt Kohta wrap an arm around her and lightly pull her against him, and she happily leaned her head on his shoulder. "So," Kohta began, "what do you think they'll be like?"

Kaede shrugged, "I'm hoping they won't be a bunch of hot-headed assholes. It's bad enough they'll be following us, if they turn out to be gung-ho and what not then I may cry in despair."

Kohta chuckled softly, looking at her. "Then I'll tell the kids that a bunch of cocky soldiers reduced their oh-so powerful psychic of a mother to tears with their manliness." Kaede smiled and shook her head.

"Cute. Do that and you'll need to figure out how to deal with being abstinent for a while." She retorted.

"I think it's you who will suffer from that experience, after all you are the one with the active libido."

"Clearly you do too considering you jump right out of your clothes at the chance of spending 'quality' time with me." She grinned. Kohta chuckled once more and gave her a quick kiss. The trip had been an hour at the least due to how far they needed to go. It wasn't that it was necessarily very far, but considering the bus didn't take a straight route to the destination added some time to the trip. The only reason the two didn't have a car of their own was because they didn't really need one. Nothing was ever far enough that they couldn't either walk too or just pay a small toll to ride the bus for. So it was just cheaper for them to not own a car all together. They were rather relieved though once the bus had reached their destination, as they were quite tired of sitting and have nothing much to do. Stepping off, they both glanced around at the area around them. They had ended up in area of Kamakura where there was more individual houses with occasional stores scattered amongst them. It looked a lot like a suburb more than it did a part of the city.

Looking around, it wasn't long before they spotted Cromwell leaning against the driver side door of a simple four door black car. Currently he had a lit cigarette in his mouth and was tapping his feet to an unknown beat despite not having any headphones on him or any music playing from anywhere around them. Kaede kept close to Kohta, which again was more for the sake of defense. She still did not completely trust these people and she was going to take as little chances as she needed to.

Cromwell looked over at them, nodding his head to them while flicking the cigarette away. "Good to see you two. You'll have to excuse Hooker's absence; he's making sure nothing bad happens to your kiddies. He along with the early arrivals of the taskforce that is." He chuckled to himself as he opened one of the rear door for them. "I'd love to see the look of the pedophile that tries to kidnap one of your children right now, thinks he's got some easy prey then bam! Face full of dirt as heavily armed military personal slams him to the ground. Priceless."

"Right…you already told us about him not being here." was all Kohta cared to add to that part of the conversation. He helped Kaede in before following her, Cromwell shutting the door for them before climbing into the driver's seat.

Starting the car up, Cromwell spoke again. "I understand you are still weary, and I wish there was more I could do about it really. If it makes you feel better, a couple of these soldiers we are going to meet have families of their own. Hell the commanding Delta Officer has a wife and son himself." He looked back at the two of them through the rearview mirror. "Basically what I'm trying to say is, these people can sympathize with you in the fact that none of them would want to see their families in such a position. I know for sure that if such a thing were the case, these are the people they would turn to for aid as well."

It was hardly reassuring for the couple; because they still had no idea what they were heading towards. It could all be an elaborate trap for all they knew, so dropping their guard was the last thing they were going to do. Things were quiet between them for the rest of the car ride, which took only about twenty minutes or so for them to reach a small warehouse located away from the town. As far as Kohta or Kaede were aware, the place had been abandoned for a long time, but it seemed that this was where the Americans and British had decided to set up. From the car they couldn't see very much activity, which was probably the idea. Cromwell drove the car around the perimeter of the building, bringing the car to a stop so he could pull it into a garage that was located around the back of it. Kaede was already on full alert, keeping her vectors ready for anything.

Cromwell brought the car to a stop, shutting it down before he climbed out and then made his way back to their door, opening it up for them. As she had before, Kaede kept very close to Kohta; Cromwell was not dumb though and chuckled at the sight of it. "This way, please," He said as he made towards a door located against the back wall. As they walked, the sound of the garage door moving indicated that it was shutting, and as the sunlight was slowly blocked, lights within the warehouse turned on to replace the missing illumination. Cromwell made it to the simple metal door, opening it up for them and stepping through and holding it open for them. Cromwell himself had to admit it was funny how much training had gone into how to seem as least threatening as possible. So much of it was very subtle details, from posture to even entering a room before those he was trying to trap, or guide in this case, simply to convince them that the room itself was not a trap. As the couple walked in, their eyes were met with the sight of about thirty or so soldiers all standing around, rummaging through rucksacks or inspecting their gear. Many were chatting and joking between one another, though a couple turned to face the new guests to their make-shift barracks.

Kaede noted how different they all looked from one another. Some fit the image of a stereotypical soldier, big, burly, with closely buzzed hair and a mean, serious look to them; others however looked like normal civilians (excluding the military equipment they were wearing of course.) She was surprised though when most of them, rather than the usual whispering and hushed talk about the horned individual, simply turned back to their work or went back to conversing with each other. Only two individuals approached the new guests, both wearing military fatigues and both wearing a harness to hold ammunition, as well as a holster for a pistol on their thighs; both of which were filled with their respective items.

"Captain Domal, Captain Walker," Cromwell said while stepping aside and waving his hand to Kaede and Kohta, "These are the parents of the family you will be protecting. Kohta," First he waved a hand to Kohta, whom both captains shook Kohta's hand. "and his wife Kaede." Both shaking her hand as well. "Kohta, Kaede. This is Captain Cicero Domal." Cromwell said while indicating to the first of the two men that had approached. His uniform was a digital-camo of tans, lights greens, and dark greens thrown in, and the harness he wore was a simple black. On the man's shoulder right shoulder was a patch of the American flag, and beneath sat a distinct red arrow shaped patch with a black dagger n the center. On the center of his chest was another patch with two black bars sewn parallel to one another.

"Yeah…you can simply refer to me as Captain Domal, or "Sandman", please." The American said. "I am in charge of the Delta Operatives.

Kaede raised an eyebrow, "Cicero certainly isn't a name I've heard be used before."

"My mother was quite a philosophy fan, and it she happened to like the ring of such a name." Cicero said, rubbing the back of his head. "I didn't exactly gain as much a love for philosophy as she had. So please, Domal or Sandman will do fine."

"It's quite a sporting nickname for him, if a tad bit unoriginal if I do say so myself." Spoke Walker, who shared a similar accent to Hooker. He looked at Kohta and Kaede, "Can't say I have as interesting a name as Domal here, as my mother wasn't as creative as his. My name is Dillian Walker. Hope you can figure out by this point I'm leading the SAS members here." The couple was somewhat surprised at how these two carried themselves and even looked. If neither were wearing the military uniforms and equipment, she swore she wouldn't have been able to guess either were members. They both had their hair cut short, Domal's brown hair being slightly longer than the Walker's black hair. The only thing that would have tipped off to any service, and even then it wouldn't have provided direct evidence, was that both were clearly athletic. Granted neither had a face she liked very much, but from the neck down Kaede had to admit that they were rather attractive.

Kohta gave them an acknowledging nod, "Nice to meet you then…" He still did not sound very happy, and scowled slightly when Walker chuckled.

"Sandman is about the only one here who bites, I promise." Walker said, grinning. "He's not too big an arse. Besides if you can put up with Cromwell here, then you'll get along fine with him."

"Ah go fuck yourself Walker." Cromwell said, looking at Kaede and Kohta. "Well when you two are finished with your meeting, come find me and I'll run you back to the bus stop. Sound good? Good." He turned and walked off, not waiting for them to actually respond.

Walker watched him go before looking back at the couple. "In all seriousness, we apologize about having to put you in such a spot like this." Kaede blinked, looking at Walker confused.

"It's not really your fault…" she said.

"Regardless," he shrugged. "As much as I like the rest of these fellas, it's not very fun knowing that they will be following you in full combat gear. Not exactly the sign of a good time."

"No kidding," Sandman said, looking at the two. "but I can say that, if I needed somebody to watch over my boy, I wouldn't choose anybody but these guys to be watching over them."

"Do you only have the one son?" Kohta asked the captain.

"That I do, fifteen years old. A pain in the ass sometimes though." Kaede and Kohta both smiled.

"I know what you mean, our girls can be quite a hassle as well." Kaede said.

He chuckled while reaching into one of his pockets, pulling out several small pieces of paper. After shifting through them, he handed over a photograph to the diclonius. In it were three people, one was a younger Domal with his arm around a young woman, her hair matching in color and reaching her shoulders. In front of them sat a smiling young boy, who looked to be about eight or nine years of age in the photo. "This was taken awhile back, haven't gotten around to another family photo unfortunately."

Kaede smiled, looking at him while handing the photo back. "Both of them look beautiful, what are their names if you don't mind me asking."

"My wife is Kalina, met her back when she was serving in the army too. The boy's name is Patrick." He pocketed the photo again, casting a glance backwards at the other soldiers around the room.

"Well now I just feel singled out here, feel awkward not having any family photos of my own to show." Walker said. He received a hard "pat" on the back from Domal, causing the British man to stumble forwards.

"Ah cheer up, you'll eventually find someone as well you 'arse'." Domal had said the last word in a mock British accent, chuckling as he dodged a punch to the side from Walker.

"He's standing right next to you and you still missed captain?! Damn I hope you can shoot better!" One of the SAS members shouted.

"Shut your damn mouth! You aren't a part of this!" Walker yelled back, this time catching Sandman with a quick jab to the ribs. The American just swore while rubbing the assaulted side. Kaede shook her head in slight amusement. She surprised, happily surprised she might add, at how these men were acting. None of them seemed like the cold, emotionless military men she had been expecting to meet. Granted she had only just met the two captains, but judging from how everybody else was chatting away and laughing here and there, she could see that none of them really fit that description. Every one of them was enjoying their free time with jokes and talk. In a way it comforted her, knowing that she'd have what she would call "people" watching her, "people" in that there was more to their lives than just killing other people. On the other hand however, it did worry her that these men may not be taking such a task as seriously as it needed to be. Why would they though, she thought; who is she to them? She was just another diclonius in their eyes, nothing really special to her as far as they were probably aware. To them this was probably just another mission to complete and there was no meaning to it besides that. Agent Cromwell had made it feel that way when he had bluntly told her that this was a mission these men were going to be a part of regardless of whether or not she and her husband cooperated. She then remembered the picture the American captain had shown her, a picture of a loving family similar to her's. It was something like that reassured her that these men may have more emotional investment in this. She could imagine that the captain would be just as worried as she is right now if their positions were switched; it made her feel better to know that such a man was one of the commanding officers in charge of the operation. Some of these men might even have families of their own, and each one of those family men would have that sympathy towards her and her own plight. Maybe to them, this was more than just another mission.

"You ok there ma'am?" Walker asked, the two captains looking at Kaede. She blinked and then chuckled nervously while rubbing the back of her neck. She must have been staring off blankly while lost in her thoughts.

"Yes, I am. Just thinking is all." Kaede responded.

"Well that's good at least." Walker said. He then looked at both her and Kohta. "Ok some important points, mostly to tell you who to look for. We all will be wearing the same camouflage so that's a starter. The next biggest clue will be the flags," He tapped the patch of the UK flag that was on his shoulder. "Look for either this or the American flag on the shoulders, specifically the right shoulder. If the flag isn't on the right shoulder then it isn't us."

"Ok, but that hardly seems like a difficult thing to copy if they choose to disguise themselves." Kaede said.

"You're getting ahead of me." Walker said while smiling. "We'll also use a countersign so that you'll know it's us. It'll change every day, but you'll be informed of the changed challenge and sign. For instance, the challenge that we have today would be 'flash', if you hear one of us say flash, then you respond with 'thunder'. That's mostly so we know it's you. It works the other way, from you to us. If you see soldiers and are not sure who they are, just say flash, and if it's us we'll respond with thunder to let you know we are friendlies. Sound easy enough?"

"Yeah, that works for us but what about our children?" Kohta asked.

"Same thing, tell you girls to look for the flags and also to know the countersign."

Kohta rubbed his head while sighing, "Alright then."

"We will inform you whenever the countersign changes, as it will everyday so the enemy can't copy it as easily. Just remember to look for the patches and to remember the countersign and it we'll be able to find identify each other easily." Walker said.

"I know we sound like a broken record at this point, but we'll do everything and anything to get you and your family through this." Domal said.

Kaede smiled, though it was hardly genuine. "Thank you then."

Domal nodded before looking at Walker, "I think that's about it, isn't it?"

"I think so," he responded back. "If anything new pops up Agents Hooker or Cromwell will relay new info to you."

Domal nodded before looking at the couple still standing in front of him. He had noticed pretty early how the two of them were stuck together, looked like they'd need the jaws of life to separate them. When he had first seen it he figured they must have been nervous, but as they had conversed he was beginning to suspect they weren't standing so close together for comfort, but rather for protection. He smiled inwardly, commending the woman on the subtle maneuver. "Well," he began, "Now that we have those bits out of the way, how about you tell me about your daughters? Sure we have their names and their appearance but other than that they are still strangers to any of us." He smiled.

Both Kohta and Kaede were somewhat apprehensive about revealing any information about their family, but they already knew what the girls looked like and even their names. It was really all they needed to find them and even track them, so it wouldn't matter if they revealed smaller details. "Well, as a parent I'm sure you can figure out that both can be quite a handful."

The captain chuckled, "Oh I could imagine! Damn, it's rough enough to be raising just one child, but twins? I applaud you on that."

Walker shook his head, looking at them all. "Sorry to interrupt, but I'll leave you family people to this discussion. I feel like a third wheel honestly." He held out a hand to the couple, shaking both of their hands before he nodded. "It was good meeting you two." With that, he turned and left, conversing with two other operatives before continuing on.

"You get used to it after a while, besides Nyu is the tough one to deal with." Kohta said. "Don't get us wrong, we are happy to know she's so energetic and adventurous, but sometime we've considered getting her a child leash just to keep her nearby."

Domal chuckled, "Loves to explore that much, huh?"

"You have no idea, now she isn't as bad because she listens more, but when she was younger…well let's just say we got plenty of exercise keeping after her." Kaede said.

"Sounds as energetic as Patrick." Domal said, "He's not as much an explorer but he definitely is active. I think the only reason he's not a part of every sports team is because there isn't enough time."

"We'll probably be set with a full schedule ourselves once the girls start looking into sports or clubs. Yuki especially." Kaede said "The way you described Patrick reminds me a lot of how I imagine Yuki will be."

"Will be?"

"Well, she's a quiet and well behaved girl, but now that's her aunt has introduced her to the martial arts world, we haven't seen her so excited for something before." Kohta rolled his eyes while chuckling.

"Excited is too mild a word in my opinion, she won't stop talking about it. I feel bad for her sister really, she usually ends up as Yuki's 'partner'." Kohta said.

"Well it's not always a one sided affair, our little Nyu has plenty of tricks up her sleeves." Kaede said smiling, "She may not be the brightest of the bunch, but she can be plenty devious."

Domal chuckled, crossing his arms while smiling. "Maybe I don't want to have a second child, sounds like quite a mess."

Kaede chuckled as well, looking at the American, "It's a mess, but damn do we love them and every minute we spend with them."

Domal nodded his head. "Damn straight. Well, I hate to cut it short but I need to get my own equipment in order, not to mention I need to work alongside Walker to figure out our plans." He offered his hand, shaking both of their hands before pulling it back. "Just remember the countersigns, and be aware that if you meet up with a fire team out there, fire team is the term we use for a group of about four to eight members in a single group, Walker and I may not be in the particular one you meet up with. It's simply because we are just a part of a different fire team at the time. Regardless, everyone will know the countersign and we will all be aware of who to look for and protect."

"Alright, thank you Captain Domal." Kaede said.

"Yes, thank you. We should probably get heading back now ourselves. By the time we get back to town, the kids will probably be getting out of school." Kohta said.

"Alright, Cromwell said he'd be right out the door you came in from." Domal said.

"We remember, but thank you. Goodbye Captain." Kaede said, giving him a nod before looking at Kaede. "Lead the way dear." The two of them then made their way back out the door they had entered the warehouse from, finding Cromwell sitting in the car's driver seat. He looked up at them as they approached before stepping out, then moving to the back of the car to open the door for them.

"So what did you think of them?" he asked. The couple sat down in the back, Cromwell shutting the door behind them before getting back into the driver's seat and starting up the vehicle. He started off back towards the bus stop, glancing back at them as Kohta spoke up.

"Well, they certainly seem friendly enough, that's better than I thought."

"I imagine it was me that gave the bad first impression, it's usually what I do. That's why Hooker usually does this part of the job; we figured however you'd like the nicer acting guy to watch your kids." Cromwell said back.

"Ah, well thanks for that then I…guess." Kohta said back.

"Did you only speak with Sandman and Walker?"

"Mhm, the others were busy getting ready and Captain Domal said he had to get his own gear around, as well get plans ready or something along those lines." Kaede said. She was watching out the front window when a thought crossed her mind. "How common are diclonius in the United States or the UK? None of them really seemed that surprised to see one. I can guess that it's probably because they are hunting hunters of my kind, but I'm still curious."

Cromwell clicked his tongue, keeping his eyes on the road as he drove. "They are definitely beginning to show up in greater numbers. When you compare what percentage of diclonius make up of population, Japan and other Asian countries still have us beat. However, a few of these men, the Captains included, were there when the US and UK made first contact with the diclonius."

"How long ago did that happen?" she asked.

"About three years ago, was a messy operation. The goal had been to secure five diclonius some armed group had gotten ahold. Long story short, they got out, tried to kill anything that wasn't a diclonius, we lost a bunch of operatives and all five diclonius were killed."

"I see…I'm sorry to hear that." Kaede said.

Cromwell shrugged, "It's the past, not much can be done about it."

Keade looked at him before sighing and looking back out the front. "Yeah…"

* * *

><p>As they had guessed, school was over for the day by the time Kohta and Kaede had made it to the building. Cromwell had been generous enough to give them a ride straight to there, though he stated it was mostly because he needed to shadow them anyways. The two adults watched as the kids left the building, many of them meeting up with their own parents and some beginning their walks home. It was not just humans either that were leaving the school or picking up their children, as diclonius parents were picking up their own diclonius children, or in some cases pure human couples were picking up their diclonius children. It always fascinated her as to how the diclonius virus could be transmitted by vectors. Nobody had really looked into the matter, though many would say it was impossible for a virus to be transmitted simply by touching an individual with the telekinetic limbs; regardless it was a method that worked for the virus and it'd probably be a long time before there would ever be a clear answer as to how it occurred.<p>

Both of them looked towards their approaching girls, who were busy conversing with two of their friends. One of them was human, a young girl by the name of Haruko. She was a young orphan, oddly having been adopted by a diclonius couple. Both were wonderful parents though, sure the mother was rather stern at times but Haruko was still well cared for. The brown haired girl was currently conversing with Yuki, while Nyu on the other hand was conversing with a diclonius boy by the name of Akio. It was funny how he was the opposite of Haruko and had two human parents, one of which had been a carrier. It saddened Kohta and Kaede to know that the boy's mother had her legs severed by an attacking diclonius during the initial, turbulent days when diclonius had first been revealed in mass to the world.

While it certainly had been a large mess when diclonius were first revealed, she was glad to know things had settled down rather quickly. She believed that initial violence was simply out of ignorant fear, on both parties' side. Both humans and diclonius feared the other was out to get them, and so both sought to strike the first blow to try and protect themselves. Fortunately, after a few years things simmered down as both sides came to realize that neither was outright aiming to kill the other; or at least that was the case in Japan. Kaede wasn't too sure how other countries were reacting to the emergence of the psychics. From the way the British and Americans reacted to her presence, she'd have guessed that diclonius were common to them at this point. Then again, they all were part of their countries most elites forces, and their relaxed nature could have possibly been brought on by simple training or that they've already encountered and dealt with diclonius. She was certain the latter must have been a part of it, at least going on what the soldier from the bus had told her when she had encountered him.

She was brought from her thoughts though as she saw Nyu and Yuki walk towards her and Kohta. The two had said their goodbyes to their friends, and Nyu as usual had a little skip in her step as she walked towards her parents, her sister walking at a more calmed pace. Nyu pounced on Kaede, giving her mother a big hug and causing the adult to stumble back with a chuckle. "It's good to see you as well Nyu. How was school today?" Kaede asked.

Nyu pulled back and looked up at her, "It was fun! We kicked some butt in dodgeball, didn't we oneesan?!" Nyu exclaimed while looking at Yuki. Her twin had a sadistic grin on her face, Kohta shaking his head as he placed his hand over his face. Both parents chuckled however, Kaede ruffling up Nyu's hair.

"I hope you girls aren't cheating by using your vectors." Kohta said as he lowered his hand and looked down at Yuki who had given him a hug. Yuki pulled back and looked down, trying to seem innocent as she spoke.

"Not exactly…" she said.

"What counts as, 'not exactly'?"

"Well…I mean…uh…" Yuki couldn't really think of an excuse as she stammered over her words.

"Well," Kaede interrupted. "So long as you didn't hurt anybody in doing so, then we may be forced to punish you." She said with a "sweet" smile.

"N-no! nobody got hurt we promise!" Yuki quickly blurted out, earning a chuckle from her parents.

"Relax Yuki, we know you didn't." Kohta said, "Your mother is just being mean is all." Kaede just grinned, before they all began their walk back towards home, or rather Kanae's. Kohta and Kaede still had a job that they needed to attend, and it was unlikely that their employers would except the excuse that the family may be in danger of being attacked by pseudo-military forces. So they were forced to capitulate, less they lose their jobs. She was able to get off earlier than usual however, which wasn't a perfect solution, but it was better than nothing.

"How were your other classes, girls? Anything else that was exciting occur?" Kohta asked as he looked down at the two.

"Not really." Yuki simply responded as she walked next to him.

"Yeah…I hate math…" Nyu grumbled in response. "But can I play at Akio's this weekend?! Please, please?!" She burst out suddenly. Kaede wished she could call upon energy like that at a moment's notice.

She did however bite her lower lip some as she looked up at Kohta. While she'd rather not keep her daughter away from friends, the last thing Kaede wanted to do was risk the lives of anybody else by possibly placing them in the crossfire. Thankfully, Kohta was there to provide an answer. "We'll have to see when the time comes, Nyu. Unfortunately, things are a little…hectic."

Nyu pouted as she looked at him. "Is it because Mommy got attacked by that one guy?" Kaede sighed and rubbed her head. Least that meant they wouldn't have to bother with excuses or trying to find a way to explain things.

"It is, sadly." Kohta said as he looked ahead. "Nyu, we just don't want to risk anybody else getting hurt if there are people out there who…who really want to hurt your mother…"

Nyu looked down, nodding her head. "I understand." She said rather sadly. Kaede put an arm around the young girl and pulled her close, rubbing the side of her head.

"I'm sorry Nyu, we just don't want to see Akio hurt is all." Kaede said.

Nyu looked up at her mother, "I know okaasan," she smiled some as she continued to speak. "It's not your fault, just those other jerks!" she then switched over to her fierce pout, drawing a smile from Kaede.

"Yeah, it is. But we'll get them, you just wait." She turned back, looking out ahead. "Just you wait."

* * *

><p>Kaede plopped down tiredly in a chair, sighing as she leaned back in it. She had no idea why, but the hospital today was busy as all hell. Lucky for her and Kohta, there were no major surgeries, only small and quick operations. However, with those tacked onto her worry about her children, she was getting stressed out pretty quickly. "Just want to get back to the girls already…" she groaned. She smiled and sat up some as she felt Kohta place his hands on her shoulders which he began to rub.<p>

"I know you do Kaede-chan. You and me both." He said. He then looked up and around. "So, where do you think those two agents are? I haven't seen them at all today."

"Either they were lying when they said they were going to shadow us, or they are really good at doing so."

"Surprising for non-locals I'd say." Kohta said back.

"Guess it means they are legitimate spies then, huh?" She said while looking up at him.

He looked down at her, "Oh I wish we were joking, then maybe I could laugh at the idea."

"You and me both." She said while Kohta chuckled, continuing to rub and massage her shoulders. Kaede closed her eyes, smiling softly as she enjoyed her husband's touch. He always knew how to make her fee; good even at her worst. She was jerked from her rest though at the sound of shouting and a door being slammed open in the hallway. She sat up, looking at the door ot the lounge room she and Kohta were in before back up at Kohta who shrugged. Both of them went out into the hallway, to be greeted by Morioka walking alongside a stretcher that was being wheeled quickly by a couple of EMTs. Her eyes widened as she caught side of the injured and bloodied form on the stretcher. Akio lay there, staring blankly at the ceiling with a large wound in his stomach. The boy's torso was soaked with his own blood, and the bandages and stretcher were following suite. "Akio!" She shouted as she ran over, walking alongside the stretcher and looking down at him before back up at the EMTs, "What happened!?" She asked, Kohta stepping up alongside her.

"Gunshot wound, travelled through completely and not cleanly either." One of them responded. Kaede looked down at Akio, then back up at Morioka.

"Let's get him to surgery now!" She shouted, but Morioka looked at her sternly, before he let out a sigh and grabbed her to pull her closer.

"He's lost too much blood." He whispered to her. He had stopped following the stretcher, Kaede and Kohta topping alongside him. "We could sew up all the wounds, but by the time we do that and get a blood transfusion ready he'd have already bled out. The best we can do is just…make sure he's not in too much pain."

"But Morioka, shouldn't we at least try? I mean you've seen what Kaede can do!" Kohta said, but the elder doctor just shook his head while looking at the two.

"I do know, Kohta, however we just didn't get him in time. Hell we are surprised he even made it here alive. That bullet did nasty damage, and it didn't decide to go through cleanly either. I'm sorry you two."

Kaede looked down, watching the floor before looking at Morioka. "Ok…I'm..I'm still going to go keep him company though."

Morioka nodded, "I won't chastise you if you do try to help, but Kaede, he's just going to bleed out regardless." She simply nodded her head before heading off after Akio and the EMTs. When she arrived to the room they had gone into, she could see the boy being hooked up to what she guessed was some pain killers of some kind. She made eye contact with one of the nurses, who simply shook her head sadly before she continued to administer the drug. Kaede slowly walked up next to Akio, grabbing hold of his hand as she looked down at him.

"I won't let you go without trying dammit." She said before she looked towards the wound. She then looked back up at a nurse, "Get a blood transfusion ready." Kaede simply stated.

The nurse looked at her before at another nurse, then back to Kaede. "But Dr. Morioka told u-"

"I know what he said, now get it ready! I'm not just going to let him go like this!" Kaede said angrily, making the nurse jump before she nodded and quickly made her way out of the room. Kaede looked back at the wound, and then at Akio. "Here goes nothing." She said quietly before looking back to the wound and closing her eyes, letting her vectors drift towards the wound. She slowly began the mending process, searching through the badly damaged tissue and organs of the boy's torso. As she scoped around, she noticed that none of the bullets remain in his body, but it hardly meant anything considering the damage they had done. She scowled, as she could feel him still beginning to slip away. "Come on…" she muttered to herself as she kept trying, finding and mending whatever she could find.

Kohta watched his wife work, recognizing that intense look of concentration on her face as she did her work. The nurses had come back, trying to hook up a transfusion for Akio, but as they worked Kohta could still see Akio's heart-rate dropping.

Kaede noticed it as well, and she kept trying whatever she could do to help, but there was so much to sort through and try to repair. She could feel her focus slipping as she tried to rush and fix up the injuries. "Come on, dammit!" She said as she kept trying.

Kohta, looked at the nurses, then at Morioka who had walked into the room as well. The elderly man looked down, Kohta sighing sadly as he looked at Kaede. He could see her tensing up, and though he couldn't see her at work, he knew that she was fixing whatever she could. It meant little however, as Akio was too far gone by this point. He made a decision he wish he didn't have to; he softly placed a hand on his wife's shoulder. "Kaede…I'm sorry but it's just…too late." He said. Kaede jumped slightly, having been broken form her concentration. She turned and looked at her husband, anger clear in her eyes as she swatted his hand away.

"No! No it isn't! He is still alive and I can damn well try!" She nearly shouted. She went to go back to work, but it was Morioka who stopped her.

"Kaede, I'm sorry but he's gone. His organs are shutting down, dying, or both. We may be able to replace blood, but he's just lost to much at this point." Kaede stared at him, clenching her free hand into a fist as she slowly looked down at the young boy. "No…dammit." What angered her most was that she knew Morioka was right, and she couldn't do anything about it. Here was this young boy, dying in front of her and all because they just hadn't reached him in time. If it had been sooner, she knew that there would have been a chance. She sighed miserably, looking down, then back at Akio.

"I'm sorry Akio…I wish I could have gotten to you sooner…". She gripped the little boy's hand tightly, closing her eyes. She then opened them to see he had craned his head to look at her, his gaze seeming far off, like he was having a hard time focusing on her. The two just stared at one another, Kaede keeping hold of his hand. Suddenly though, she felt a familiar sensation. She then felt a flood come from the boy, but it was one only she could see. It was a wave of memories; something she remembered doing long before, and the cascaded into her own mind as the boy, somehow, gave them to her.

* * *

><p>She was looking through his eyes, hearing, feeling, and living these memories as if she was him. She was sitting in the boys room, sitting at a small desk working on some simple math problems. It was quiet otherwise as he quietly worked, humming some random tune. Then she heard shouting downstairs, she wasn't sure who it was, and the she looked up at the door, obviously curious as to what the commotion was. Couldn't have been mom and dad fighting, that almost never happened. He stood up, going towards the door before it was suddenly opened by his frantic and scared looking mother. She quickly, yet quietly, shut the door behind her, ignoring the questions as she quickly went over to him. Moving him, she grabbed the chair and desk, moving them as best she could.<p>

"Akio, help me!" She said, terror evident in her voice. He stood there, confused before he complied, helping his mother to move the desk to block the door that pushed open into the room. Finally set, the mother turned and knelt down, struggling to do so considering her prosthetic legs, placing her hands on his shoulder. "Akio, I want you to go into the closet and hide. No matter what happens, stay there and do not come out until you know the police arrive. Ok?" She said to him.

"Mom, what is going on? Is dad ok?" He asked her, but he was shushed by her.

"Akio, please." She was struggling to not cry at this point. "Just go into the closet and do not come out, please. Mommy loves you, and she needs you to do this ok?" The door was now trying to be pushed open, and they could hear people talking to one another outside.

"Son of a whore, Jeremiah get this damned door open!" One shouted.

Akio's mother looked at the door before back at him, quickly ushering him towards the closet. "Remember Akio, do not leave this closet until the house is empty or the police arrive. I love you." She said to him while helping him inside. Helping him get in, she then shut the door to the closet just as the bedroom door began to be shoved open.

Akio moved, trying to get a good view of the room, and he was finally able to the door be pushed open, the desk doing absolutely nothing to stop it as a large man walked inside. He was very, very tall, almost a good seven feet in height and powerfully built. Kaede was shocked, because she immediately recognized the man. Jeremiah simply stepped into the room, looked around before at the mother. "There she is!" He said while walking into the room. He was followed by two more individuals, one of which wore military gear. His entire face was hidden by a mask that had grating along the mouth and nose, and not even his eyes could be seen as they were hidden by a reflective lens. He had a vest on with pouches for ammunition, and in his hand was a simple assault rifle. The magazine in the rifle consisted of two drums attached to one another that fed into the magazine well itself. Everything he wore was completely black, and no skin was showing due to all the gear.

She was astonished to see Jeremiah standing there, perfectly fine as far as she could tell. He had both arms, and as far as she could tell she could safely assume he no longer had the gaping hole in his chest. Only his head could be seen, his hair still cut very short.

The last of the men wore gear to match the other soldier, except he wore only a black beanie over his head. Black locks of hair could be seen emerging from underneath the hat, but what stood out most was his heavily tattooed face. They were a variety of swirling patterns that covered the entire right side of his face, some of the swirls reaching the man's nose. Otherwise, the tattoos ended before they reached the left side of his face, and they travelled down his neck and vanished beneath the collar of his shirt. He looked around the room as he stepped in, though rather than an assault rifle, he had a large revolver in hand. Two other revolvers were attached to his vest, one holstered on the front of his vest, the other hanging on his waist. She did not recognize the models nor caliber of bullets it used, but judging by the size of the guns they had bullets to match.

He looked at Akio's mother, and then looked back out the door. "Get him inside here as well please." He calmly said, then stood back as two more soldiers stepped in. They were dragging Akio's father by his arms, the man's leg bleeding from some type of injury. They both set the man down next to his wife before they stood back, then turned to look at the man. The tattooed man simply nodded his head to them before indicating the door. "The boy is here somewhere, so keep checking and don't stop until we need to leave. Jeremiah, Brownie, stay here please." The other two soldier simply turned and left, the one who had entered with Jeremiah groaned.

"How the fuck did I earn that nickname, seriously?" He said.

The tattooed man simply shook his head, "By being a whiny little pansy like that." He knelt down in front of the couple. Akio's mother was cradling her husband and looking up at the man.

"Aw fuck you, Q." He said while looking around.

The tattooed man, Q as the soldier referred to him, didn't respond and simply kept his eyes on the people in front of him. He still had his revolver in his hand, but he didn't brandish it in a threatening manner or anything. "Ok, you two." He started. "If we can, we can keep this wonderfully civilized and probably have nobody get killed. It'd be preferable really, as you folks seem like a really nice couple."

"Please…just let us go…" Akio's mother said while watching him. In the background, the sound of the soldiers rummaging through the house could be heard. Jeremiah was eyeing the closet though, not bothering to look at the conversation going on between Q and the couple.

"And I will, if you just let us take the diclonius with us. All I want and then we'll saunter on out of here. Hell we'll even call the paramedics for you!" Q said while smiling.

"Um, Q. Would that really be a good idea?" Brownie asked.

"Considering the fact we'll be long gone by the time they arrive, I'd say it's the charitable thing to do considering we are putting these two under some serious stress." Q responded as he looked at the soldier behind him. He then turned back to the couple. "Now then, where is he?"

"We don't know what you are talking about

!" The father shouted, Q recoiling slightly as some spit hit his eye.

"Ew…you really don't need to shout sir I'm right here." Q said as he wiped his eye before looking at him. "And don't fucking bother lying, because it's a really shit-assed attempt. You'd have to have been living underground for the past two decades to have no idea what I'm talking about. So again, where is the diclonius?"

"We told you, we don't know what you are talking about." Akio's mother responded, still holding her injured husband close.

Q's voice was tinged with serious irritation now. "Stop lying, you're only making this a lot more difficult."

"Please, sir-" She tried to say before Q interrupted.

"Stop fucking lying!" He shouted before he reached up to his head and pulled the beanie off forcefully. Akio, and even Kaede, were surprised by what they saw. Q pointed to the blackened horns atop his head. "Horns like these! Pretty fucking hard to miss! His will be ivory in color, nowhere near as discolored as mine are." Suddenly, both of them were yanked up to Q's face, even though he didn't make a motion otherwise. Kaede could only guess he was using his vectors. "Where. Is. He?" Q staring them both down at this point.

Neither said anything, rather Akio's mother was crying as she tried to look away. "Please…" Q rolled his eyes before he suddenly gave Akio's father a hard headbutt, knocking him to the ground and yanking Akio's mother up closer to him. She cried out, and that was when Akio screamed.

"Leave her alone!" He screamed as he burst out of the closet. He went to lash out at Q with his vectors, Q having glanced over. The boy however, didn't get very far as Brownie snapped his rifle up and fired a burst of rounds into the boy. Akio, and Kaede's stomach was afire with pain as he collapsed to the ground.

Q stood up, looking at the boy. "Ah god dammit!"

Brownie turned to look at Q, "Hey! He was going to kill us, I think I was warranted in that reaction!" he exclaimed.

Q sighed heavily and put a hand over his face. He then lowered it, nodding his head. "Yeah, yeah, guess you were justified…sorta."

"Sorta?"

"Well we are the ones who broke into his house with the intent of kidnapping him."

"Oh yeah…"

"Yeah." Q rubbed his head, rubbing a hand between his horns as he did so. "Well fuck, this was a wasted journey then wasn't it?"

Akio was lying on the ground, crying and screaming in pain as he held his stomach. Both parents had shifted over to him, trying to comfort him and help. The other soldiers had returned to the room, weapons at the ready, but they were quickly dismissed by Jeremiah. Q and Brownie stood there, looking towards the family before Brownie looked at Q. "Well, what now?" He asked the black horned diclonius.

Q clicked his tongue before looking at the soldier next to him. "Call the paramedics, then we get the fuck out of here."

Brownie cocked his head to the side, "Uh…is it really wise to leave them considering they've seen yours and Jerry's fa-ow~!" Brownie rubbed his head where Jeremiah had smacked him.

"Call me Jerry again and I'll imbed you in the ceiling." The man said before turning back around, giving orders to the other soldiers.

Q pinched the bridge of his nose before looking at Brownie once more. "Won't really matter in the end; not like the authorities are going to be finding us anyways."

Brownie shrugged, "If you say so. Just give us the go ahead to call and leave and we shall do so." The soldier turned before walking out of the room. Q was spinning his revolver on his finger, looking at the family before him. The boy was more than likely going to die, Brownie put at least three rounds in his stomach, and considering the boy wasn't very big it meant that a lot of tissue and organs would have been shredded by the high caliber bullets.

"Sorry folks, but I did try to keep this civil." He simply said before turning and following Brownie out of the room.

* * *

><p>Kaede gasped loudly, crying out in pain as well as she stumbled back holding her stomach. She had let go of Akio's hand, the nurses and doctors in the room glancing up at the shocked woman.<p>

"Kaede? What is it?" Morioka asked, Kohta walking up next to her and putting an arm on her back.

"Kaede-chan?" Kohta asked as he looked at her. She looked between everyone, then to Kohta before at Morioka.

"Y-Yeah, I'm ok…" She said before looking at Akio. He was staring at her now, his hand having fallen limply to his side. He was fading quickly, and she could hear the heart rate monitor growing weaker with every passing moment. She looked up at Morioka. "Where…where are Akio's parents?"

Morioka looked down before at the nurses. "I trust you to handle things form here." He said solemnly before he walked towards the door, beckoning Kohta and Kaede to follow him. Once out in the hallway, he continued to walk as they came up next to him. "His father is being treated for a broken leg, blunt force trauma it seems. You'd swear somebody hit it with a sledgehammer or something." Morioka stated as they kept walking.

"It was Jeremiah, the man who attacked me on the bus." Kaede simply stated as she looked down. Kohta and Morioka stopped, looking at her as she stopped as well.

"Jeremiah? Wait, you said you had killed him." Kohta said.

"How do you know, is a better question." Morioka responded.

Kaede looked up at Morioka, thinking for a moment before swallowing. She knew it wasn't wise to probably be explaining what all a diclonius could do. Mostly because she was afraid it'd spread and cause any more tension than was already around. However, she trusted this man, as even when tensions were still high he had accepted her into the hospital. She knew he would not be as easily frightened. "We…diclonius can share our memories." She looked up at him. "The vectors you hear about, those "invisible hands" as many refer to them, well they are first off…what I use in the surgeries. They give me a precision no normal hand could ever achieve."

Morioka stood there, watching her while raising an eyebrow. "Huh…explains why you happen to be such a wonder girl surgeon then. Now, what do these have to even do with knowing who injured the boy and his family?"

"The vectors are only one form of manifestation of the telepathic abilities. Because it is telepathy, we diclonius can also communicate between one another. Akio…" She paused, looking down and holding her stomach where she, or rather Akio, had been shot. She took a deep breath before looking back up at the elderly surgeon. "Akio showed me what happened."

"Then let's get some details, por favor." Spoke another voice from behind Kaede and Kohta. Everyone jerked their attention around, shocked to see Cromwell standing there. "Don't look so shocked, we told you that you were going to be shadowed. Now if you have any info on these nuts say it while it's fresh."

Kaede starred at him, scowling some before she looked between all of them and began explaining. She told them what she saw, all three of the men scowling as they listened. She finally finished, shuddering and wrapping her arms around her stomach. She could still recall the searing pain she had felt when the bullets had struck Akio.

"So wait, another diclonius is behind this? Why?" Kohta asked.

Cromwell started tapping his teeth, as he looked around. "Pretty damn good question. Not to mention that super-freak is also alive. Fuck this is getting bad."

Morioka looked up at Cromwell, scowling some. "And just who are you, anyways?"

"Someone who's trying to keep their asses from ending up in the same boat." He responded. "That's all you need to know."

Morioka was going to say something, but Kohta held up a hand. "Let it go, sir. He's an asshole like that and nothing can be done to avoid it I'm afraid."

"Least you are learning." Cromwell muttered, he then spoke loud enough for them to hear him. "So now we still have a super man walking around, and a diclonius assisting them. I'm going to report this in, so please stay here while I go do so." He then turned, pulling out a radio from his coat, chatting into it as he stepped away some from the group.

Kaede lowered her arms, looking at Kohta, then back at Morioka. "Sir. I must request that I be let out early. I want to get to my girls now. I'm sorry, but after seeing that," She paused for a moment. "knowing these men are nearby, I want to make sure my daughters are safe."

Morioka nodded, looking between her and Kohta. "I understand. Be safe you two." He said before quickly turning and making his way back towards Akio's room. Cromwell watched him go, finishing up his conversation before moving back over to Kaede and Kohta.

"The others have been informed of what's happened, more importantly they've been put on alert. Sandman has also requested to join Hooker in shadowing your children, so those two are on alert as well." He then turned and began walking down the hallway. "I have my car outback, ride with me and we'll get there soon." Kaede and Kohta looked at one another before following after Cromwell. "Police are already investigating the household, and will probably interview the parents, so here's hoping we get some info that way also."

"Please tell me your teams aren't going to be knocking on Kanae's door." Kohta said, looking around as they stepped outside.

Cromwell shook his head as he kept walking towards his car which he had parked near the back of one of the lots. His posture was a mix of calm, yet alert. The agent kept a watch on his surroundings, on guard in the event things were going to get violent. Of course, his role would be much more defensive if an attack occurred, as he only had a Berretta 9mm in his shoulder holster and a few extra magazines of ammunition. And if these hunters were as well equipped (and diverse) as they were guessing, then a pistol was not going to be of a lot of use in fighting them off. In all honesty, Cromwell knew that Kaede and her vectors were going to be the most powerful part of their group if a fight did break out. Really Cromwell was there to call in reinforcements to provide the much needed fire support. Once the call went out, it'd only be a few minutes before either a couple of trucks would arrive carrying the Delta and SAS operatives, or even better would be a few Little Birds for transport, as well as to provide some real heavy firepower. Sure the small helicopters weren't really meant to function as gunships, as they were designed to be very fast and maneuverable; but when equipped right they certainly were not something to underestimate and that speed worked greatly in their favor. Cromwell had seen a few times what those birds were capable of when they combined their agility with miniguns and missiles, all under the control of the highly skilled special operations pilots. However, he doubted the Little Birds would be deployed in such a fashion unless it was absolutely necessary, as the Japanese government would probably not welcome the idea of one of their provinces turning into a warzone.

They eventually arrived at his car, Cromwell opening the back door for them while still keeping alert for anything, waiting until the two climbed in before he shut the door and got into the driver's seat. Starting up the car, he quickly pulled out and began making his way in the direction of Kanae's house.


End file.
